The Dream of the Fayth
by legendsofwoe
Summary: When Sin's path of destruction leads the world to the brink of extinction, a group of heroes shall rise to meet this threat. In the process they meet unexpected discoveries, conspiracies, friends, and enemies. Can the world be finally rid of the thousand year plague? Or will the spiral of death consume all of Spira? Not if a certain Saiyan has anything to say about it.
1. Foreword

To readers from my old story,

I apologize to people who've read my last story, for the long wait for the return of this rewrite but some things have come up in my life in the last year that has made it difficult to focus on writing. The reason for this rewrite is quite simple: I wasn't satisfied with my last story. I was mainly winging it from chapter to chapter, following the script word for word instead of trying to make it original, at least original in my eyes, and after reading through it I thought it amateur at best. Now I've got a basic layout for what the story was in my head. Again I apologize, but I hope this updated work makes up for it.

To new readers,

This story series will have elements from Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X-2, Dragon Ball Z, Avatar the Last Airbender, Full Metal Alchemist, Devil May Cry, Final Fantasy Dissidia, and Naruto. I know it's a lot of things to be in an already screwed up cross over, but if you please bear with me and my writing all will be explained. And who knows, you might enjoy it, which ultimately is my goal.

I also want to thank Anasazi Darkmoon for "_The Makings of a Hero_", Nightfire04 for "_Clouded Horizons_" series, and x3ylime for "_A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes_". It is because of these writers and their stories that I've got the new inspiration to write. I highly recommend that you also read their stories.

Also I'd like to thank Nightfire04 again for allowing me to use the last names that he used for the Final Fantasy X cast. Names have always been the hardest thing for me to create for characters. And I appreciate it greatly that he was kind enough to allow me to use them.

Finally, a disclaimer:

I do not own Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X-2, Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Gt, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Full Metal Alchemist, Devil May Cry, Final Fantasy Dissidia, or Naruto. All I own are the characters that I've created for this story. This is a fan-made parody for fans of the above stated games/shows and I have no intention to make a profit on any and all of the games/shows mentioned above. Please support the official release of each of the games/shows listed.

Thank you for your time and attention,

-Legendsofwoe


	2. Prologue

**Prologue – A Reason to Live**

Long ago, Spira was pushed to the brink of destruction by a war between two of the world's greatest cities, Bevelle and Zanarkand called The Machina War. Bevelle was a highly technological based city and built machina, machines, for war that far outclassed any other to tip the fighting in their favor. Zanarkand, the Summoner-using superpower, was on the losing side of that war, but they continued valiantly.

When Bevelle was about the destroy Zanarkand's forces and its city, a monstrous fiend appeared and, in its first act of destruction, decimated the city of Zanarkand. From there, the fiend went anywhere machina was abundantly used and destroyed everything in its path. Preachers soon rose up and started telling all who would listen of what the fiend is and what it wants.

The fiend was named Sin, the Great Harbinger of Death, for he is a punishment for all of Spira for its misuse of machina in war. Sin would continue to destroy every living thing until all of Spira was dead or in ruin or until Spira atoned for their transgressions during the Machina War. Sin would track down every living thing and destroy it.

That is when Lady Yunalesca, a Summoner from Zanarkand that escaped the city's destruction, rose up with the Final Aeon, a very powerful summoning, and defeated Sin at the cost of her own life. A time or peace known as The Calm ensued for several years, but Spira had yet to atone for their sins. Sin rose again, determined to continue its path of destruction. The religion of Yevon was created to help the ultimate defeat of Sin. It's biggest taboo being the use of Machina.

And from then on, all Summoners had the right to travel to each temple in Spira, created for the sole purpose of supporting Summoners, before making a trip to the ruins of Zanarkand to obtain the Final Aeon. In the end, they too, would forfeit their lives to defeat Sin. But the hope of Sin not coming back drives each Summoner to complete this pilgrimage. Many Summoners have answered and will answer their calling, and shall continue to do so until Spira has atoned and Sin is no more.

_-Teachings of Yevon_

* * *

_**~Thirty years ago~**_

Crometean Island isn't large a large island, it's only inhabited by approximately hundred and fifty people. Most of those people live in Crometean Village down by the beach and docks. It's mainly a fisherman's town, but a few people live a little further inland for farming, and a few oddballs that live out in the middle of nowhere for seclusion.

Standing at the far end of the village, away from the beach, is Crometean's Temple of Yevon. Several of the townsfolk showed potential to be Summoners, but none have made it to full Summoner, now they mainly work as healers in the temple's infirmary. The temple houses its own temple knights, which few villages in Spira have, and an orphanage for kids who have lost their families to Sin or by some other tragic misfortune.

But strangely, what really helped the village thrive was their blacksmith. A small cottage at the very edge of the town was the one with the most visitors. Apart from the house stands a large tent, where a steady beat of a hammer striking metal was a normal occurrence. Blacksmiths were valued greatly in this part of the world since they can create and build a great many things.

After several minutes of the pounding there was a hissing sound, the sound of heated metal meeting water. A young man walks out of the tent, covered in sweat and wearing a tan leather apron and tough leather gloves on his hands. He holds his hand up to block the sun from the mid-afternoon sky, since his eyes were still used to the darkness of his tent. Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he takes off the apron and the gloves and puts them on a tree stump just outside his tent.

The man is twenty-three years old and five foot, nine inches. He has short blonde hair and crystal-blue, piercing eyes. He wears a dark-blue muscle shirt, dark-blue slacks with a red sash around his waist, and tan work boots.

He starts to stretch out the cramps that formed from crouching most of the day when a young woman's voice calls to him. "Marcus! Can you catch her? She ran away from me again." The woman yells tiredly.

Marcus turns and sees a small three year old girl as tall as his knee wearing a floral patterned dress with shoulder length raven-black hair and his crystal blue eyes running towards him. "Daddy!" The little girl squeals then jumps at Marcus.

Marcus lets out a belly laugh as he catches the girl and picks her up, holding her at arm's length with ease. "Hey, Bella. How's my baby girl today?" Marcus asks softly with affection to the girl.

Bella smiles a bright smile. "I help mommy give all the flowers!" Bella says with pride.

Marcus laughs and puts Bella onto his shoulder, holding her with one arm. "Did ya, now? Good job, baby girl." Bella beamed at the praise.

By then a woman who is twenty-one years old, and is the same height as Marcus, mostly due to her long legs walks up to them. Her waist length raven-black hair blows in the breeze and her warm gentle brown eyes twinkle at Marcus and Bella. She wears a white tank top and a black skirt that goes to her knees and is carrying an empty white wicker basket, along with a small pack on her back. She gives Bella a warm smile and pats her cheek. "That's right. She really helped give them out today. Everyone appreciated it." The woman says warmly.

Marcus smiles in amusement. "They just like being tended to by two beautiful women." Marcus says through a laugh. "How was your day, Amelia?" Marcus asks before kissing his wife.

Amelia kisses him back and smiles. "Just fine. I think Bella wants to help out mommy more often." Amelia says brightly looking up at Bella.

Marcus smiles but shakes his head. "Nope, she's gonna help me sell some of my wares. No one can say no to this pretty face." Marcus says proudly.

Amelia snorts in amusement at that. "Oh no you don't, I'm not losing my little girl to a blacksmith just yet, especially her own father." Amelia scolds playfully then abruptly yawns.

Marcus raises an eyebrow at her. "Something happen at the temple today?"

Amelia shrugs and directs them into the house. "Nothing special really, just helped make some of my potions. Bella and the other healers helped with the injured and sick. Being the best alchemist pretty much gives me constant potion duty. And it takes a lot out of me."

Marcus looks at Amelia suspiciously. "You never got this tired when you were a healer. It has to be some heavy duty potion making if it takes that much out of you."

Amelia grins mischievously at Marcus. "Ancient techniques passed down from master to apprentice cannot be discussed." Amelia playfully pushes Marcus towards their bathroom. "I can't talk about it, but go clean up and help me with dinner."

Marcus smiles knowingly and walks toward the bathroom. "You drive me up the wall sometime with these ancient techniques." Marcus grumbles before closing the door.

* * *

After Marcus was clean, he helps Amelia with dinner while Bella was off playing in her room. A knock is heard from the door, followed by the running of Bella from her room. "I get it!" She yelled before either parent could do anything. Marcus sighs and goes to the front door.

A soldier was kneeling to be on level with Bella as he was talking to her. "Nice to meet you, Bella, I'm Captain Antilles Nakamura, is your daddy home?" Antilles asks with a warm friendly smile. Upon seeing Marcus, he stands up, same smile on his face. "Marcus Amari? The Blacksmith?"

Marcus looks at Antilles in suspicion. "Who wants to know?"

Antilles chuckles quietly and salutes Marcs with a hand over his heart. "I am Captain Antilles Nakamura of Bevelle's Temple Knights with a request from the Maesters of Yevon." Antilles says formally.

Marcus rolls his eyes. "At ease, soldier, no need to be so formal with me. Come on in." Marcus says standing aside for Antilles.

Antilles nods in appreciation and enters. "Who is it?" Amelia calls out from the kitchen.

Marcus looks towards the kitchen and raises his voice a little. "Captain Antilles from Bevelle, he'll be joining us for dinner."

Antilles eyes widen and he holds up his hands politely. "Oh no, I don't wish to impose."

Marcus growls at Antilles. "Look, bub, you're here with business. This is how I do business. So you're eating and talking with us." Marcus says darkly.

Antilles chuckles and nods before bowing. "In that case, I accept the invitation and appreciate the hospitality."

Marcus smirks and points to the bathroom. "Then wash up, shouldn't be too much longer." Marcus looks at his daughter. "You too, Bella."

Bella nods energetically. "Yes, daddy." She grabs Antilles' hand and starts dragging her new friend to the bathroom. "This way, this way."

Several minutes later, everybody was sitting down and enjoying the meal. Amelia examines Antilles from her seat. "So why are you here, captain?"

Antilles smiles and bows his head towards Amelia. "Please, just Antilles. Anybody who is gracious enough to welcome me into their home and feed me such wonderful food doesn't need to address me by title." He says respectfully.

Amelia blushes then looks at Marcus. "Oh, he's good." She says to the confusion of Antilles.

Marcus chuckles and looks from Antilles to his wife. "And he's honest, definitely a nice change of pace."

Antilles looks back and forth between Marcus and Amelia in confusion. "Excuse me?"

Amelia clears her throat. "You're not the first to come to us with work. Most of the times the 'soldiers' were less than honest about who they were or what the work was for."

Bella speaks up after taking a drink. "Momma and daddy make bad men go bye-bye." Bella says with a giggle.

Marcus smirks at Bella before returning his attention to Antilles. "I'm a hard person to lie to. You've been truthful, and you seem like a decent guy. I'm willing to hear you out." Marcus pushes his empty plate aside and crosses his arms. "So shoot."

Antilles pushes his empty plate aside as well and pulls out a sealed envelope. "The Maesters of Yevon wish to hire you to make a sword for a newly commissioned Commander." Antilles passes Marcus the envelope. "All the details are in there."

Marcus takes it and breaks the seal then pulls out three pages. Two of the pages had writing on them the third had a picture. Marcus reads the pages thoroughly then examines the picture for a silent minute before passing it all to Amelia.

Amelia reads the letters then looks at the picture and lets out a slow whistle. "This looks like it'd take a month to complete, if we had the right material and equipment." She says slowly as she continues to think about it.

Antilles smirks, his eyes twinkling. "I wasn't aware that you too had smithing experience."

Amelia sighs and puts down the pages. "My father was Evan Silver Hammer, my husband was his apprentice. I've been around it my whole life."

Antilles eyes widen in surprise at Marcus. "No wonder the Maesters wanted you, the apprentice of one of the greatest smiths in Spira's history."

Marcus nods while he thought about the job. "I can have it done maybe in six months. This is, of course, if I can get the equipment and materials I need quickly. The work, plus the materials and handling, it'll cost the Maesters a very shiny gil. Unless you have them on hand, then it'll take a month."

Antilles smirks and reaches into his pack attached to his belt, pulling out a large sack of gil. "Two-hundred thousand up front as an incentive and if you agree to leave with me back to Bevelle tonight, you're family is welcomed to join you, of course, you'll be commissioned triple your usual rates." Antilles says with a confident smirk.

Marcus' eyes widen at that. "Wow…" Marcus says momentarily stunned and excited by this offer.

Amelia however frowns slightly. "I can't leave. I have obligations here that I can't abandon, and Bella can't be left by herself for so many hours a day." Amelia looks at Marcus and smiles slightly. "But you should take the job."

Marcus' excitement dwindles considerably. "I don't want to be gone from you that long."

Amelia smirks warmly. "It's only a month, and with that kind of money we could help out the entire village."

Marcus puts his chin in his hand as he thinks to himself. After a minute of silence he looks at Antilles and sighs. "As much as I don't like to leave for that long, I'll take the offer."

Antilles claps his hands together enthusiastically. "Excellent. I'll go inform my crew at once." Antilles stands up and salutes Amelia. "Thank you again for your hospitality, I promise I'll have your husband returned to you as soon as possible. I'll also keep an eye on him while he's away to make sure he doesn't get into trouble."

Amelia giggles, her eyes twinkling. "Thank you, my husband is quite the trouble maker."

Marcus waves his hand dismissively. "I was young, I'm allowed to have some trouble."

Amelia looks at Marcus with a mischievous smirk and a raised eyebrow. "And the fight you got into with May and Azuki last month?"

Marcus scoffs and looks out the window. "I'm not as young as I was then. Plus they ganged up on me, it wasn't fair."

Antilles chuckles and bows to them again. "Please, meet me at the dock when you're ready." With that Antilles walks out of the room and out the front door.

Amelia starts cleaning up while Marcus goes to pack for his trip. By the time he was done Amelia and Bella were wearing their shoes and stood by the front door. Marcus puts on his tan trench coat and his boots and leads them out the front door.

The sun was beginning to set on the horizon giving an orange glow to the island. Marcus, Amelia, and Bella walk hand in hand as they head towards the dock, taking their time. The few villagers they pass on the way they explain where Marcus is off to, receiving a farewells along with "good lucks" and "don't screw it ups".

As they finally approach the dock and see the ship preparing to disembark, Bella hugs Marcus' leg, starting to sob quietly. At that moment, he had a bad feeling about the whole deal. Marcus smiles sadly and puts his hand on Bella's head, trying to comfort her. "Hey there, kiddo, don't cry." Marcus says through the lump in his throat.

Bella looks up at Marcus, tears flowing from her eyes. "Daddy, please don't go. I'll miss you." She said quietly through the sobs.

Marcus bends down and picks Bella up, hugging her tightly. Right then he was thinking of not going. Screw the work the job would provide. He just wanted to make his little girl smile, not cry.

Amelia joined in on the hug, tears in her eyes as well, which brought tears to his eyes. "It's okay, sweetheart." Amelia says soothingly to Bella. "Daddy will be home before you know it." Amelia says, trying to calm herself and Bella down.

Marcus kisses the top of Bella's head. "Don't worry, baby girl. When I come home I'm gonna have lots of stories to tell you. And I'm gonna bring you home the nicest toy I can find." Marcus promises.

Bella's sobs quieted a little and she wipes some of the tears from her eyes. "You promise you'll come home?"

Marcus chuckles lightly and brings his head down so they were eye to eye. "Is that what's worrying you? That I might not come back home?" At Bella's nod Marcus laughs lightly and hugs her tightly again. "Honey, not even Sin could keep me from coming back home. I promise."

Bella smiles and hugs Marcus tightly as well. Amelia smiles warmly at Marcus then whispers into Bella's ear. Bella leans away slightly and pulls a silver chained necklace with a three-inch piece of crystal out of her dress's pocket and shows it to Marcus. "Here daddy, this for you from me and mommy."

Marcus stares at the crystal then smiles at Bella. "It's beautiful, baby girl." Marcus kisses Bella's forehead. "Thank you." Marcus hands Bella to Amelia and puts the necklace around his neck. "I'll never take it off." Marcus promises then looks at his family "I'll miss you both every day." Then he hugs them one last time, kissing Bella on her head and Amelia on her lips. "I love you both, more than anything in the world."

Amelia smiles warmly and new tears flow from her eyes. "I love you too, more than anything."

Bella wipes away tears of her own. "Me too, daddy." She says, trying to be cheerful.

Marcus then grudgingly lets them go and walks up the ramp and onto the ship. The sailors pull up the ramp as soon as he's on board and the ship immediately takes off. Marcus stays near the railing, waving to his family until they were out of sight. Marcus waves to a couple of the village's fishermen as they pass them, his bad feeling intensifying, but he ignores it.

Antilles comes walking over to Marcus and leans on the rail beside him, smiling friendlily. "You'll be home before you know it." He promises.

Marcus nods and sighs in sadness. "Gonna be gone for a month." Marcus says through gritted teeth.

Antilles nods and pats Marcus on the back. "Speaking from experience, it never gets easier." Antilles says fooling with his own wedding band.

Marcus and Antilles watch as Crometean Island gets smaller and smaller as they move farther away from it. He had to hope this would go by quickly, he was already homesick.

* * *

_**~One Month Later~**_

It was the longest month half of Marcus' life. As soon as he started the job he encountered problems. He had to get used to the new forges that Bevelle used, had to use the right metals, which at times just wouldn't blend to make good steel, and the adding of the precious stones only added to the headache, but Marcus completed his job to the Maesters' specifications and more.

Now Marcus is walking briskly through the streets of Bevelle, heading towards the docks and the boat that'd take him home. He was very anxious to get home to his friends and family. It seemed like an eternity since he's seen them. Marcus feels the bulging coin purse full of Gil tucked in his sash, the commission for his work, smacking his leg with every step he took. A gift wrapped teddy bear tucked under his arm, and a golden ring he forged himself with the left over materials of the sword lies in a case in his pocket. Marcus smiles as he thinks of how the Gil would help the island, along with his elevated reputation to master blacksmith. Word was already beginning to spread of his work on the sword.

That morning he presented the sword to the newly appointed Commander and received his payment. As soon as he got all of that taken care of he immediately packed and left the palace, sending Antilles ahead to prepare the ship. The long month did exactly what he and Amelia had wanted since he became a blacksmith. He was finally getting recognized for his work.

He was already throwing around ideas of what to do with the money. He now had enough to build a proper forge instead of the tent he worked out of. The rest he'd give to the village to make some much needed repairs. All in all, the trip did more for him than he could ever imagine. As he made his way to the docks he started to dread the six hour boat ride to the island, but that dread disappeared almost immediately when he thought of it as home instead of just the island.

At the docks a crowd had gathered at the edges of the docks and was looking out to sea. Marcus got curious and went to see what they were looking at. His heart stopped beating for several moments. Sin was floating above Crometean Island, clearly attacking it. Smoke was rising from the islands and fiends could be seen dropping off of Sin and onto the island.

Marcus quickly runs to the boat that would take him home and grabs Antilles. "You have to get me home now!" Marcus shrieked at the man, fearing for his family.

Antilles was still shouting orders to the other sailors before addressing Marcus. "We'll never make it in time. The most we can do now is prepare for a possible rescue mission. We'll move as fast as possible, but I can't promise anything." Antilles looks away, sadly, but adamantly says. "I'm sorry, Marcus."

Marcus brings his fist back to punch Antilles when there was a huge explosion. Marcus looks out at Crometean Island as it explodes in a ball of white light. When the light disappears all that could be seen is Sin, the ocean, and a mushroom cloud of destruction where Crometean Island used to be.

Marcus' grip slackens and he falls to his knees all his strength leaving him. In his head he heard himself promising Bella he would be home, telling Amelia and Bella that he loved them, his last night with Amelia. All of the happy memories he had forged over the years with his family repeated in his head and with each new memory a piece of his heart would break.

Tears blur his vision as he watches Sin sink into the ocean depths, leaving no trace of the island behind. Marcus starts crying hard, misery sweeping over him. Te had just had everything he ever wanted, and lost them all within twenty minutes of each other.

Marcus punches the deck of the boat in anger and misery. "Damn it." He mutters. Then he punches it harder. "Damn it." He says louder and punches the deck harder. "Damn it!" He cries out, punching the deck hard enough to split the skin on his knuckles. "DAMN IT!" Marcus shrieks at the top of his lungs, punching a hole into the deck, getting small cuts and splinters all over his hand.

Marcus removes his hand, and picks up the package he dropped that had Bella's bear in it. He tears it open and pulls out the ring he was going to give Amelia and clutches them to his chest, rocking back and forth and sobbing. He every memory of his family again with startling clarity and a fresh agony with each new break in his heart.

* * *

_**~Ten Years Later~**_

Ten years is a long time for someone who really didn't have anything to live for. But the time was well spent for Marcus. He spent every waking moment working on weapons he thought would be excellent for defeating Sin and the countless fiends that inhabit the world or helping people when he could. Marcus had traveled all over the world, seeking knowledge of Sin and giving his wares to any who could wield them properly. His journey brought him to a small island to the south of the main continent.

The boat finally docked on Besaid Island during the mid-morning. The boat's passengers descend the ramp and start walking on the beach towards the path that leads further into the island. Marcus stands on top of the ramp on the boat watching the travelers walk the beach.

Since the day he lost his family he started growing a goatee and it was pretty bushy, some added worry-lines on his face and some new scars from various fights he's been in across his body, but none were noticeable with his clothes on, and the constant scowl that shows even when he isn't being particularly miserable, but otherwise he was exactly the same. A sword is strapped to his back in easy drawing position, just in case he needed to fight for any reason.

Marcus looks at the golden ring he was going to give to Amelia that he placed on his left pinky, the only finger the ring would fit on, but it was close to his wedding ring, so it made Marcus a little happier that it was there. Marcus walks off the dock and onto the sandy beach, keeping up with the group of travelers as they reach the path that would lead them further into the island.

Marcus looks around at the beach and his scowl deepens. Besaid reminded him a lot of Crometean Island, and with that it brought up memories he'd give anything to get rid of. He loved his family with all his heart, but the memories were driving him to drink and fight more often, and he didn't like what it was doing to him.

Marcus turns back to the path and continues to follow the others. They soon approach a fork in the road, the path to his left, the one everyone else was taking, lead up a hill. The right path turns a corner of a rock wall and you couldn't see where it would lead from his current position.

Marcus was about to take the path up the hill but the sound of a baby crying followed by the growl of a fiend caught his attention from the right path. Marcus didn't hesitate to draw his sword, a heavy broadsword, and rushed around the corner to help the child. Around the corner of the rock wall Marcus stopped. The area was a cliff above a long stream that veered off into the island, and it looked like a war zone currently. Small impact craters were all over, smoldering grass was all around the ground, and pyreflies were floating in the air freely.

The strangest sight though, was the soaking wet naked one-year-old boy with black spiky hair coming down to his shoulders and dark brown eyes, a silver chained necklace around his neck with a silver ring on it, and a brown furred monkey-like tail swishing back and forth behind him, who is staring off against a Dingo fiend. The Dingo was readying itself to attack the little boy. The boy was barely able to stand on his two tiny feet, but he looked determined, and has tears streaming from his eyes, also readying himself for the fight.

The Dingo jumps at the boy and Marcus instinctually jumps forward, his sword in both hands trailing behind him. Marcus brings the sword up, just as it flashes with silver fire, and cuts the Dingo in half. Both halves of the Dingo fall over the cliff and splash into the water below. Pyreflies float up from the stream and into the sky with the others.

The boy's lips quiver, the shock of the event finally getting to him, and he begins to cry again. He falls down to a sitting position and wails in shock and fright. Marcus sighs in relief and walks over to him. "The hell were you thinking, kid? Fighting a fiend by yourself?" Marcus asks harshly, knowing the boy didn't understand him, but talking anyway. He did the same thing with Bella, interaction of any kind with a kid helped to calm them down, mostly.

Marcus sheaths his sword and shakes his head at the boy, not really wanting the trouble the child offered, but his morals wouldn't allow him to just leave the boy there alone. Marcus growls in annoyance and pulls off his travel pack, opens it up, and pulls out a clean towel. "Come here, kid. You'll get a cold if you don't dry off." Marcus says softly then begins to dry the boy off who was shivering from the cold water, but otherwise calming down.

After that Marcus pulls a rag and lays the boy down on his back, trying to tie a diaper on him. The boy kicked Marcus in the chest with enough force to send him sprawling on his back. The boy looks at Marcus' fall and laughs happily clapping his hands together.

Marcus scowls at the boy in mock distaste. "Think that was funny, huh?" Marcus says teasingly, and then realized what just happened. A one-year-old boy just kicked him, someone who has been working out and training for the past twenty years of his life, and sent him sprawling like he was nothing more than a child himself.

"Freaky strength, monkey tail, what in the hell are you, kid?" Marcus asks in amazement, but just shakes his head in grudging acceptance, knowing he wasn't going to get an answer right away.

Marcus crawls back to the boy and starts the diaper again, this time, not getting kicked, and picks the boy up. Marcus cuts a little hole in the diaper and pulls the boy's tail through. Marcus pulls out a string and ties the end of it to the boy's tail, wraps the tail around the boy like a brown fuzzy belt, then ties it to the base of his tail. The kid didn't look too happy about that.

Marcus sighs tiredly. "Look, it's not natural for a kid to have a tail of any kind. Better for people to think you have a fur belt than a tail." Marcus explains, but the kid still didn't look happy about it. "First things first, kid, let's get you to the village. See what they can do for you." Marcus says while packing up and holding the boy. "Hopefully someone can take you in."

Marcus looks back the way he came, and starts walking. The boy watches the birds flying in the sky and reaches a hand out to try to grab them, cooing happily. Marcus smiles at the boy having a good time, and pulls out the bear he was going to give Bella from his pack, giving it to the boy. The boy squeals happily and takes the bear having a cooing conversation with it, making Marcus laugh.

Then a sad thought came to Marcus. "That's the first time I've laughed in…damn, ten years." Marcus says looking down at the ground.

Marcus walks up the path to the cliff overlooking Besaid Village walking the path heading towards the village. There were no visible tracks of fiends, so he knew he was going to be the okay, at least till he got to the village.

At the bottom of the hill is an archway that labels the village beyond it Besaid Village. On the far side of the village is the village's temple, and from either side of the archway from there to the temple are little ramshackle tents and a single worn down cottage labeled "Inn". The residents of the village obviously lived in them and they resembled their village, worn down. Marcus sighs disapprovingly at the sight.

"This place had definitely seen better times." Marcus whispers to the boy as walks into the village and heads towards to the temple, nodding to the villagers in greeting as he passed them. He thought of what all he could do to help the village as he walked into the temple, but didn't want to stay in the village longer than he needed to. He opens the door to the temple and walks inside.

The main chamber of the temple is a circular room with three other doors, one on top of a staircase, the way into the temple's Cloister of Trials, and a door at ground level on each side of the staircase that went to various rooms. There are two raised platforms, one platform raised above the other, on each side of the room, each with statues of Summoners and High Summoners who have died in the pursuit of defeating Sin. Marcus whistles softly in appreciation. "Probably the nicest place in the area." Marcus whispers then scoffs silently under his breath. "But of course all the temples look the same, so that doesn't say much." Marcus tells the boy, even though he was asleep in Marcus' arms.

Near the stairway Marcus spots a priest of the temple, someone who could help him out. Marcus walks up to the priest and bows as the man does the prayer gesture for him. "Welcome to Besaid Temple. How may I help you?" The priest asks kindly and with a gentle smile.

Marcus sighs tiredly, feeling the strain from his travels catching up to him. "Might I speak to the head priest, please?" Marcus asks pleasantly, trying to soften his scowl. "It's really important." Marcus urges shrugging the boy to empathize his point.

The priest bows again and his smile widens. "I am Father Makado Himura, head priest of Besaid Temple. How can I help you?" He asks kindly.

Marcus tells the priest about finding the boy and bringing him to the village. "What I'm really asking, father, is if there is a place where the kid could stay? At least until someone comes to claim him." Marcus asks politely, really wanting to make sure the boy was taken care of.

Makado looked grim as he thought. He sighed in resignation before beginning. "Our temple isn't what it used to be." Makado says shamefully, his eyes lowering to the floor. "You see, refugees keep coming and the temple takes them in. But lately we have been over crowded. Our food storages are running low and we simply don't have the beds for everyone to rest. Our main concern is the safety of the village, but our Crusaders' weapons and armor are in need of repair. I don't know what to do." Makado looks at the sleeping kid and sighs. "But I cannot turn away a person in need, especially a child. He shall sleep in a bed even if it must be mine and I must sleep on the floor." Makado promised determinedly.

Marcus liked the guy already, which was rare nowadays. He was ready to give up his own bed for a kid in need. Marcus smiles and then looks at the kid. Did he really want a kid to be raised in a place where he wasn't sure he could get food? Marcus thought to himself.

Marcus physically shakes his head in denial and faces the priest. "It won't be necessary for you to give up anything more, father." Marcus pulls out his coin purse filled with Gil and tosses it at Makado, who catches it and looks quizzically at Marcus.

Marcus nods to the coin purse. "That should help you get some more food for the refugees and the villagers." He then holds the boy a little closer to him. "I'll help fix your Crusaders' weapons and armor and I'll help bring trade to the island so you all can continue to feed yourselves. I'll help build beds so everyone can rest comfortably when they sleep. I'll help make everyone a cabin so they don't suffer in inclement weather." Marcus promises then looks down at the boy, who was waking up from his nap. "And I'll take care of this kid until the day he can take care of himself or his parents come to claim him."

Makado was silent for a long time holding the large purse of Gil and considering Marcus' promises. Then he raises an eyebrow at Marcus, not believing what he was doing. "Who are you? And how can you keep the promises of such things?" Makado asks, sounding a little suspicious.

Marcus smirks fiercely at Makado. "It's what I've been doing since I was twelve." Marcus explains then pokes his thumb to his own chest. "I'm Marcus Amari, Master Blacksmith from Crometean Island, at your service." Marcus says smugly and proudly.

Makado's eyes widen in recognition and he does the prayer gesture again. "Master Marcus, I've heard so much about your work. Praise be to Yevon. Please, stay with us. If you can do as you promised you would have our eternal gratitude."

Marcus and Makado talk for several minutes before Marcus nods his head in farewell and walks out of the temple. The boy was fully awake and looking at Marcus with a bright toothless smile. Marcus smiles back and looks the kid over, thinking out loud. "If I'm gonna take care of you, you're going to need a name." Marcus says as he walks to an empty space near the archway of the village. He thought hard as he got to the empty space.

The boy was playing with Marcus' left pinky, trying to get to the gold ring. The activity gave Marcus the inspiration for the boy's name. "I'm gonna name you my wife Amelia's father, Evan Umera."

Evan looks up at Marcus as he gave him a name and bursts out a high pitched squeal of happiness. Marcus laughs at Evan's enthusiasm, causing Evan to laugh along with him. Marcus bends down and starts drawing building plans in the dirt, talking to Evan the whole while about what he was going to do. Evan started drawing in the dirt too, thinking it was a game, and together they started making plans for their cabin and forge, where they would work to better Besaid Village for the future.

* * *

Author's Note:

Sorry that this remained screwed up for a little while. But I hope I fixed it. Please review!

-Legendsofwoe


	3. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: New Arrivals**

Evan walks down the path from the cliff to Besaid Village. Now twenty-one years old, he's grown to be over six feet tall with a healthy build. He wears a black hooded leather trench coat that goes down just below his knees. He's also wearing a blue short-sleeve shirt, black pants that have zippers around the knees, and black boots with no laces. A silver chain rests over his blue shirt from around his neck and a silver ring is on his right middle finger.

It's just after noon as he passes the arches into the village. The village itself has changed considerably since Marcus first arrived twenty years ago. All the tents were now gone, replaced by wooden cabins for each villager. A large addition has been added to the temple for the orphans and refugees, the Crusaders, and the newly added Temple Knights.

Standing outside Evan's cabin is the head priest of Besaid temple, still serving the temple. Upon seeing Evan he waves. "Evan, just when I thought you were going to be late." He says pleasantly.

Evan smirks and laughs softly as he approaches. "Please, Father Makado, you know I do my best."

Makado nods in understanding as Evan opens up the door directly beside his cabin and follows him in. Evan had followed in Marcus' footsteps and became a master blacksmith. His shop was filled with a variety of items that would be needed inside the village that he handcrafted himself. Evan goes to a box that he had completed the previous night and walks it over to Makado.

Evan presents Makado the box and then pulls the door closed. "There ya go, Father."

Makado bows to Evan then starts pulling out a purse. Evan holds up his hand to stop him. "It's okay, Father. My dad didn't charge the temple, so neither will I. Do we have to keep doing this every time you need something crafted?" Evan asks with a laugh.

Makado chuckles and puts his purse away. "I'll tell you what. If you tell me where you went for those five years, I'll stop insisting on paying."

Evan sighs, familiar with this song and dance. "I can't tell you, Father. It's a personal matter."

Makado sighs sadly. "Was it because of Marcus leaving the village? He said he'd only stay until you were able to handle yourself. He left your sisters in your care, was that too much?" Makado asks imploringly. "I admit, Marcus and Lulu's mother's relationship was a little unorthodox at the time. But, when Tess came along and her mother passed, may her soul find rest, I knew it was meant to be. I thought you all were getting along so well. When you left they were most distraught. And your return didn't sit so well with Lulu."

Evan breaths heavily out his nose and looks at Makado with a frown. "Father, please, it wasn't because of Lulu or Tess. It wasn't because of Marcus. I understand why my father left, and I love my step-sisters very much. But what you're asking me is a very personal matter that I'm not ready to discuss."

Makado chuckles softly and nods his head in understanding, relenting. "I see. If you ever need an ear to listen, mine are always open." Makado bows again then walks back up to the temple.

Evan lets out a sigh of relief and leans against the wall of his cabin. It was true that six years ago Evan left the village. He gave virtually no one any warning of where he was going or that he was going at all. Then last year he returned after hearing about the death of a friend of his. After that he stayed and continued what Marcus had wanted him to do.

Not everyone was happy was his return. Some were glad he left and saddened when he returned. He wasn't the most popular child in the village, more like the oddball freak of the village from a well off family. Which to be honest, he was. He had relatively no friends until he was five years old.

Evan's thoughts were interrupted by two people walking into the village. One was as tall as Evan and built just the same, though he was twenty-four, much tanner, and brown eyed and carried a Blitzball under his arm. His hair was orange and stuck up really high in the front. He wears the standard uniform for the Besaid Aurochs which is a yellow vest top cut away at the stomach, yellow shoulder pad on his left shoulder, blue and yellow baggy trousers gathered above the ankle, brown armbands on each wrist- with a blue and yellow armguard over the left one- and open sandals. That was Wakka Oshima, Captain and coach of the Besaid Aurochs.

The other one was about four inches shorter than Wakka and slim with blue eyes and blonde disheveled hair carrying a sword attached to his belt. He wears yellow and brown shoes, a gauntlet in his left hand and a black glove in the other and a symbol pendant hangs from a silver chain around his neck. He wears a yellow jacket with a white hood and a blue pauldron and armor over his left arm. The dark dungaree-type outfit he wears over his other clothes is fastened with a black belt that has a metal chain. His pants are cut with one leg shorter and one leg longer same symbol right trouser-leg.

This one Evan didn't know. Evan walks over to them, nodding to Wakka as he approached. "Hey, Wakka, who's the new guy?" Evan asks looking from Wakka to the other one.

Wakka smirks and nods. "Evan, this is Tidus Kuroda. He just washed up on the beach while me and the Aurochs' were practicing." Wakka looks to Tidus. "Tidus, this is Evan Umera, the village's blacksmith, one of the best ones in the world."

Evan gives Tidus an appraising look. "Washed up on the beach? What happened?" Evan asks curiously.

Tidus rubs the back of his head. "Well I was on this boat with some other people, and then Sin came and attacked. Next thing I knew I was floating right by the shore."

Evan's eyes widen at the mention of Sin. "And you're alright. Gotta say, that's a feat in itself. Get affected by the toxin any?"

Tidus sighs and looks at the ground as Wakka throws an arm around his shoulder. "Get this, ya? One of the first things he says is that he's the star player of the Zanarkand Abes. Funny, huh?"

Evan raises an eyebrow in amazement. "Really now? Well it's a good thing you showed up when you did. Maybe with you the team can overkill the competition like they always wanted." Evan says with a chuckle.

Wakka laughs at that. "That's exactly what I told him." After a moment he releases Tidus and thumps him on the back. "Sin's toxin aside, praise be to Yevon that you're alright."

At that moment Tidus' stomach growls loudly. Evan laughs and puts his hand on Tidus' shoulder. "Hungry, huh?" Evan looks to Wakka and nods towards his cabin. "Why don't I take the new guy for some lunch, then I'll show him around the village?"

Wakka smirks and nods, looking towards his cabin. "I got to start packing anyway, might as well start now, ya?"

Evan nods then a thought struck him. "Hey, come to my place real quick. I got something for you for the trip."

Wakka shrugs and together they head back to Evan's cabin. Evan opens the door to his small one room house and lets them in. Inside is a small single bed, a dresser, closet, and chest. Also, there is a small kitchen area and a four person table. A small desk is placed off to the side of the room, leaving it mostly roomy.

Evan walks over to the chest and opens it, kneeling down. He pulls out a small travel pack and tosses it to Wakka. "That should help you a lot." Evan says with a smile, crossing his arms over his chest.

Wakka holds up the small pack and looks at it with a sense of disappointment. "I already got a travel pack."

Evan smile brightens, clearly wanting that look of disappointment. "Put your arm in it."

Wakka shrugs and does so, He gasps in surprise as his arm keeps going, though it should have stopped at his elbow. Wakka puts his head into it and sees that it's inside looks as big as the room he's standing in. Wakka withdraws his head and looks at Evan in astonishment. "What is this?"

Evan laughs leans on the table. "It's a very rare travel pack. You can fill that up and it will fill as light as it does now. And if you need something and don't want to dig for it, just think it and it'll appear in your hand. It comes in handy when you want to take stuff with you that you'd need a cart to pull around." Evan says proudly.

Wakka stares in awe at the pack and looks at Evan. "Where'd you get one of these?"

Evan smirks and points at himself. "I made it. I thought it'd be a nice going away present."

Wakka looks from the pack, back to Evan, then to the floor. "Man, now I feel bad. I've been having mixed feelings since you left and came back. But, you've been a good friend to me. The times you were there for me, and now this. I just want to say I'm sorry, and I'm sorry you're not coming with us."

Evan waves a hand dismissively, still smiling. "Look, I know I messed up when I left, but I had my reasons. And despite everything I view you as a friend. You have the right to feel any way you do about my actions. Besides, I'm coming with you, at least to Luca."

Wakka looks at Evan curiously at that. "I didn't think you were much of a Blitzball fan."

Evan shrugs indifferently. "I'm not, I'm going to compete in the martial arts competition."

Wakka's eyes widen in surprise. "You're gonna compete? That's something I gotta see."

Evan smirks brightly again as Tidus' stomach growls loudly. "Alright, I'm gonna fix this guy some dinner. You go and get packed. I'll see you in a little bit."

Wakka nods and walks out the door while Evan starts cooking what looks like his entire supply of food. Tidus notices this as he sits down. "Man, I'm not that hungry."

Evan laughs while he continues to cook. "This? Eat what you can, the rest is just a little snack for me."

Tidus chuckles nervously. "Man and I thought I could eat." Tidus says awestruck before thinking to himself. Then he looks up at Evan. "Mind if I ask you a few questions?"

Evan nods and looks over his shoulder at Tidus. "I'll tell you what, you ask a question, you answer one of mine."

Tidus leans back in his chair. "I can do that. Why do you think that Wakka wanted me to join him at the Blitzball tournament when his team is already undefeated?"

Evan shrugs and puts down a plate in front of Tidus. "Honestly, the team doesn't need it. But knowing you're the star player of the Zanarkand Abes, he just wanted to get you involved with something until someone from another team recognizes you." Evan gets back to cooking. "What all do you remember before washing up on the beach?"

Tidus sighs in resignation. "I grew up in Zanarkand. I became the star player of the Zanarkand Abes after my father died. One day Sin attacked Zanarkand and that's how I ended up here."

Evan starts setting out the rest of the food. "So Sin brought you from Zanarkand and dropped you a thousand years in the future? I see why Wakka doesn't believe you."

Tidus' eyes widen in astonishment. "You believe me?"

Evan chuckles as the last free space on the table is taken by another plate. "About the time travel, no. But, something is off about you. I'm willing to hear you out more." Evan rubs his hands together. "But first, food!" Evan exclaims excitedly.

Tidus starts eating, thinking about what all happened to him. If I was one of them hearing my story, I doubt I'd believe it either. Tidus thinks as he sets down his plate and rubs his full stomach.

Tidus looks at Evan to thank him, but stopped in stunned silence. Evan was eating faster than Tidus has ever seen anyone eat, shoveling plate after plate of food into his mouth, sometimes in one take. It was over in two minutes. The entire table was now filled with empty plates that needed to be washed.

Tidus looks at the plate then up to Evan, seeing a look of contentment on his face. "That'll hold me up until tonight." Evan says happily as he takes the plates over to his sink.

Tidus was shocked at that. "Tonight?! You ate enough for a small army and that'll only hold you over till tonight?" Tidus asks incredulously.

Evan smirks and laughs. "Yeah, good thing I can hunt and fish, otherwise the food situation for the entire village would be more screwed up then it was before." Evan stretches a little and turns to face Tidus. "Alright, let's give you the grand tour." Evan says and leads Tidus out of the house.

Evan points towards the temple. "That's Besaid's temple of Yevon. That's what brings most people to the island. It houses the priests, healers, temple knights, Summoners, and the orphanage."

Tidus looks at the building, curiously. "Doesn't seem so big."

Evan nods in agreement. "It's a whole lot bigger inside than it looks. Everyone there lives reasonably comfortablely."

Evan starts walking around the village with his hands behind his head. Tidus follows looking at the other cabins, some of which were businesses themselves. "How do people stay in business if people mainly come for the temple?"

Evan looks at the cabins as well. "The island is best known for its silk for clothing. But with the danger of Sin people are afraid to come. Mainly we trade amongst ourselves if we need anything. When the very occasional visitor comes in for business we do well for ourselves. But people just followed my step-dad's idea with a mail-service."

"Who's your step-dad?" Tidus asks looking back at Evan.

Evan smirks at Tidus and says proudly. "Marcus Amari. He's the local hero. Traveled here and adopted me, and later my older sister. Helped stabilize the village. Defended the village from a giant fiend. Then he became a Guardian to the last High Summoner."

Tidus looks to the temple then back to Evan. "What the heck is a summoner?"

Some villagers were walking by, Tidus' question made them stop, and look at him like he was nuts. Evan looks at them then hooks his thumb at Tidus. "Got too close to Sin. The toxin." Evan explains patting Tidus on the back. They both nod in understanding and give Tidus the prayer gesture before moving off.

Evan watches them leave with a mischievous smirk. "Man, if I knew that'd work so well, I would have been using that for years." Evan says with a laugh.

Tidus snickers slightly. "Come on, that's just wrong man."

Evan shrugs, looking nonchalant. "What can I say? I've been one of the town pranksters since I was a kid." Evan sighs in remembrance to the good ol' days. "But, back to your question. A Summoner is a person who can summon Aeons. They have a lot of responsibilities, but their biggest one is that they must go to all the temples and pray there. The ultimate goal of a Summoner is to defeat Sin. A High Summoner is a Summoner who has defeated Sin."

Tidus looks really confusedly at Evan. "I don't really understand."

Evan sighs heavily and looks to the sky, silently praying for some help before looking back to Tidus. "Go to the temple, ask a priest. They can explain it better than I can.

Tidus nods and turns towards the temple. "Thanks, man."

Evan smirks and pushes him toward the temple. "No problem, newbie." Evan says before walking back to his cabin.

Tidus goes up the stairs and into the temple. Inside several people are on their knees praying to statues of people. He walks around looking at the statues and stops at the newest looking one. Footsteps draw Tidus' attention towards a boy approaching him.

The boy is as tall and built as Tidus, though he was only a year younger with blonde hair tied into a pony tail. He wears a white short-sleeve shirt that's tucked into his tan khaki shorts and held up with a black belt. Wooden sandals are worn on his feet and a katana lies to his right side. His blue eyes are blue and his smile is gentle.

The boy walks up to Tidus and does the prayer gesture. "Excuse me, are you the boy from the sea? The one that Mr. Oshima found?"

Tidus looks confused. "Who? Wakka?" Tidus asks, at the boy's nod Tidus smirks and nods, holding out his hand. "Tidus Kuroda."

The boy takes his hand and shakes it firmly. "Vaed Himura, son of the village's head priest. It's a pleasure, Mr. Kuroda."

Tidus waves his hands at Vaed to calm down. "Just Tidus, please."

Vaed smiles and bows again. "Tidus then, Evan has sent me to be your guide through the temple and answer your questions."

"Threw you at us more like. Jeez, we're taking his babysitting job now?" A man says behind Tidus causing him to turn around, having not heard the man approach.

The guy stands at six feet tall with messy, short silver hair, green eyes, and the same build as Tidus and Vaed. He wears a black long-sleeve shirt, bright red pants and yellow shoes. A saber sword hangs from his brown leather belt.

Tidus couldn't help it, he took one look at this guy and laughed. "Wow! What's up with your pants and shoes man? Lose a bet?"

The guy smirks and looks Tidus over. "I wouldn't be talking, lady. One pant leg that much longer. And the suspender get-up. That mop on your head. And your voice sounds like a man's, but that can't be right, you look too feminine."

Tidus glares at the guy. "I am a man."

The new comer laughs loudly. "Wow really? Damn. Though I'd say that you're a boy before a man there, fruitcup."

Tidus growls and takes a step towards the guy. "You got a problem with me?"

Vaed steps in between them and pushes them apart, looking at Tidus. "I apologize for his behavior. Tidus Kuroda, meet Ezriel Fukinara, second in command of the temple knights and star player of the Besaid Aurochs. And yes, he did lose a bet."

Ezriel looks at Tidus and smirks arrogantly. "Way too easy to get under your skin, fruitcup."

Tidus continues to glare at Ezriel. "So what bet did you lose?"

Vaed smiles and lowers his arms. "It was between him and Wakka about who can swim up the river quicker. Ezriel lost and had to wear them."

Ezriel looks away with his head high and eyes closed. "I woulda won if my leg didn't cramp up. And thankfully I only have to wear it while I'm duty."

Vaed sighs and looks at Ezriel seriously. "Speaking of, shouldn't you be on patrol?"

Ezriel looks at Vaed dully before walking away. "Yeah, whatever."

Vaed raises an eyebrow. "You're on duty." Vaed says reproachfully.

Ezriel looks at Vaed from over his shoulder, turns to face him and salutes. "Yes, sir." Ezriel says grudgingly before turning back around and walking away with an over exaggerated march.

Tidus couldn't help but snicker. "Wow, I didn't think the head priest's kid had that much authority."

Vaed smiles and chuckles humorously. "I don't as my father's son. But, that's because I'm the Commander of the Besaid Temple Knights."

Tidus gawks at Vaed in surprise. "You? You're just a kid yourself."

Vaed laughs warmly at that. "If you have the skill, you can be anything in Spira. That's why my dream is to eventually become Maester."

Tidus looks confused again. "What's a Maester?"

A couple of people close by was shocked by this and stare at Tidus. Vaed looks at them pleasantly. "This young man has come into contact with Sin. The toxin is affecting his memory." Again, people nodded in understanding and gave him the prayer gesture.

Tidus watches them walk away and smirks. "Wow, Evan was right, that is useful."

Vaed nods in agreement. "A Maester is a leader of the Yevon Order. They maintain the peace of Spira and uphold the teachings of Yevon. With them it is possible that we might one day be rid of Sin forever."

Tidus looks at Vaed in awe. "Wow, that's a pretty big dream. I hope you achieve it someday."

Vaed smiles and bows in appreciation. "Thank you."

At this point Tidus notices that nearly everyone was watching the door at the top of the stairs quite intensely. "So, what's everybody worried about?"

Vaed looks to the door as well and sighs. "Two apprentice Summoners went into the Cloister of Trials nearly a day ago. They haven't emerged."

Tidus looks up to the door then back to Vaed. "What is a Summoner?"

Vaed looks at Tidus in shock, and then realization comes back to him about Tidus' condition. "Sorry, I forgot. A Summoner is a very special person that trains all their lives for a single goal: to defeat Sin. Right now, two of our villagers have completed their training and are now doing their final rights. They must enter the Cloister of Trials and pray with all their hearts. If their pray is heard, they will receive the Aeon and become full Summoners."

Tidus looks at the door again. "Is it dangerous in there?"

Vaed sighs quietly. "It can be, but I doubt they're in any danger."

Tidus looks back to Vaed. "Shouldn't someone go check on them?"

Vaed shakes his head. "It isn't allowed. Only Summoners and their Guardians are allowed to enter. It's a sacred place."

Tidus looks up at the door and starts running toward it. "What happens if the Summoners die?"

Makado gets in Tidus' way. "You must control yourself. The precepts must be obeyed."

Tidus pushes Makado out of the way and runs up the stairs. "Like I care!"

A blur passes Tidus and suddenly he goes flying back down the stairs, hitting the floor. Tidus sits up and rubs his bruised cheek and looks up to see what hit him. Ezriel walks down the stairs, his saber sword in his hand and his other hand balled into a fist. "What the hell do you think you're doing? No one enters the Cloister unless they are a Summoner or a Guardian."

Tidus stands up, shaking in anger. "What'll happen if something went wrong? What if the Summoners have died in there while you're out here waiting?"

Vaed walks over to stand beside Ezriel, looking at Tidus sternly. "I understand your reasons. I also sympathize with your worry. You don't know either Summoner, and yet at the mention of possible danger you were willing to help. I admire that." Vaed says sounding friendly, but then his voice hardens. "Regardless you attempted to enter a place forbidden for you. Therefore I am banishing you from this temple for the remainder of the day."

Tidus gawks at Vaed in outrage. "What?!"

Vaed holds up a hand to calm him down. "Ezriel and I are Guardians to one of the Summoners inside the Cloister. It isn't just you who is upset and worried about the length of time they have remained inside the Cloister. I believe everybody is just as anxious and concerned about their safety. So, please, go get Wakka. He is also a Guardian. We shall enter the Cloister and see what is happening."

Tidus glares at Vaed. "You're banishing me from the temple, yet you want me to get Wakka for you?"

Vaed raises an eyebrow. "I could have done a lot worse for the transgression you were about to make. If you prefer I could have you killed on the spot."

Ezriel grips his saber tightly and chuckles. "Oh, please, you won't kill anyone. But let me, this kid has been getting on my nerves."

Vaed gives Ezriel an icy stare but smirks before looking back at Tidus. "Please, just get Wakka, we shall talk after we have returned." Tidus glares at Ezriel and Vaed before turning and walking out of the temple. Vaed looks back at Ezriel, coldly. "Was that last part really necessary?"

Ezriel sheaths his sword and snorts in contempt. "Please, if you would have kept being friendly with him he would have argued all day. That was just to make him get out faster."

Vaed sighs and shakes his head in distaste. "You probably didn't earn any favor for him."

Ezriel laughs out loud. "Like I really care if he likes me or not."

Vaed sighs in weariness and waves his hand dismissively. "Go get some bread and milk. We'll at least take them some food."

Ezriel growls in annoyance before walking away. After a minute, Wakka comes walking into the temple, looking at the people before walking up to Vaed. "What's this about you banishing Tidus from the temple?"

Vaed rolls his eyes and explains all that happened. When Vaed finished Ezriel had returned with a small basket. "So now, we're going into the Cloister."

Wakka puts his hand on his forehead and lets out a resigned sigh. "Trying to get into the Cloister by himself, what was he thinking?"

Ezriel laughs loudly. "Please, like he was thinking of anything."

Vaed shakes his head. "He's a caring and courageous person. He was doing what he thought was right. I hold no animosity towards him, but I am the Commander of the temple knights, I must enforce the rules."

Wakka nods then looks at the door to the Cloister. "They're not gonna be happy to see us."

Ezriel shivers slightly. "Yeah I know, Lulu is gonna chew our heads off." Vaed and Wakka laugh before they all walk up the stairs and into the Cloister.

* * *

Tidus walks around Besaid in a bad mood. Evan walks out of his cabin and sees Tidus just as he was passing him. "What's wrong, Newbie?" Evan asks with concern.

Tidus looks at Evan and lets out an explosive sigh. "You're friends are jerks!" With that Tidus tell Evan what had happened inside the temple.

Evan winces after the story and scratches the back of his head. "Man, you really screwed up there."

Tidus glares at Evan. "You too! Man, why is everyone being like that?"

Evan laughs nervously. "Dude, you just tried to break one of the temple's cardinal rules. You're lucky that they didn't really punish you. Besides you're worry wasn't really all that justified."

Tidus balls his hands into fists. "Not justified! What the Summoners died?"

Evan laughs again, this time humorously. "You don't know the Summoners so I don't blame you. But they can handle themselves. One is the daughter of the last High Summoner Braska Kaname. She's one of the strongest and kindest people I know. The other Summoner is my step-sister, and the daughter to the village hero. She's so stubborn and determined that I doubt anyone could stop her. Don't worry, you'll meet them soon enough and you'll understand." Evan says confidently.

Tidus lets out a resigned sigh. "I guess I owe them an apology when they get out."

Evan chuckles and shakes his head. "Doubt it. Vaed will probably just explain things and you'll be good to go. He knows about you're condition."

Tidus chuckles and makes sounds like he's sick. "You make it sound like I'm contagious."

Evan takes a shy step away. "You aren't right?" With that Evan and Tidus laugh together.

* * *

The elevator from the Cloister of Trials to the Chamber of Fayth stops in front of Vaed, Ezriel, and Wakka. They all get on, though Wakka and Ezriel were reluctant, and the elevator starts to go down to the chamber below. Ezriel swallows nervously and pulls on the collar of his shirt. "Man, this is gonna suck. We're gonna die."

Vaed chuckles quietly. "And you're gonna die in those ridiculous clothes." Vaed says teasingly.

Ezriel looks down to his pants and shoes and sighs explosively. "Damn, I forgot to change. I'm gonna die dressed as a clown from the waist down."

Wakka shakes his head, laughing silently. "We're not gonna die, calm down."

Ezriel looks over at Wakka and smirks. "Calm down? You're shaking too."

Wakka smacks Ezriel on the back of the head lightly. "Shut up."

Ezriel laughs and crosses his arms over his chest, still keeping a hold of the basket. "Whatever you say, cap'n."

The elevator stops and the three get off the elevator, walking down the hall towards the Chamber of Fayth. At the end they enter a room with a set of stairs that lead to another door. The room is lit dimly, but bright enough to see the door at the top of the stairs. Two people were also in the room.

The one sitting on the stairs looks to be twenty-two years old and is five and a half feet tall with a mature busty figure, she has a small doll attached to her hip. She wears a black fur-lined dress with a collection of belts below her waist. Her black hair is tied up in a knot at the top with long braids dangling from it. She wears many accessories, including several necklaces, rings and many ear piercings, as well as dark purple make up. And her piercing reddish-brown eyes were glaring at the three of them. This was Lulu Haiate.

The one standing is twenty-five years old and massive, standing at six feet eight inches tall and very muscular build covered in blue fur, and carried a spear in his right hand. His shoulder length grey hair flows down behind him, except for two braids along both sides of his fierce face and a short great beard on his chin. The broken horn on his forehead didn't take away from his fierce look, if anything, it magnified it. He wears very little in the ways of clothing, except for a green Ronso patterned skirt which is longer in the front. This was Kimahri Ronso.

Immediately Lulu stands up and walks forward upon seeing the three. "What are you doing here? Didn't think we'd be able to handle it?" Lulu says sounding outraged.

Wakka holds up his hands, trying to get her to calm down. "No…it's not…that's not…" Wakka looks at Ezriel and Vaed desperately.

Ezriel looks at Lulu like she was a horrible monster about to devour him. "We…uh…people…uh…." Ezriel holds out the basket. "Food." He says simply.

Vaed laughs at the two and looks at Lulu his hands up in a placating gesture. "If we didn't think you could handle it we wouldn't have sent you down here. We're only here because we wanted to bring you guys some food since it's been nearly a day since you came in. Some people were concerned for your safety as well, that's what really made us come down. There was one person about to come in here just because he thought you guys might not be okay."

Lulu glares at Vaed then grabs the basket from Ezriel and walks back to the steps to sit down. She breaks the bread in half and takes a bottle of milk for herself before handing the rest to Kimahri. Kimahri takes it and nods to the three before eating quietly. "They haven't come out." Kimahri says between bites.

Vaed nods and looks up at the door. "Any sign that they aren't alright?"

Lulu shakes her head before taking a drink of milk. "No, we heard them talking a few minutes ago. I'm sure if something was terribly wrong they would have come out." At that moment the door to the Chamber of Fayth opens and two young women walk out.

One of them stands at five feet three inches tall, with dark brown shoulder length straight hair and a petite build carrying a staff in her right hand. She wears a purple pleated, flower-patterned dress and a black spaghetti-string camisole under a white sash that wraps around her neck and over her chest, and a yellow patterned obi with a chōchō musubi knot and a decorative obidome to clinch the cords. Two kimono sleeves hang from her biceps and wears black calve high boots. She also wears a small, blue-beaded earring on her right ear, hidden by a lock of her hair woven into blue beads with gold rings around the larger, middle bead, and a silver pendant around her neck. Her left eye is blue while her right eye is green. Her name is Yuna Kaname.

The other one was five and a half feet tall, with black curly hair reaching down to her waist and a slim muscled, yet busty build with two sais attached to her belt. She wears a tight black strapless tank-top that shows off cleavage and her naval under a short red sleeveless jacket, baggy red shorts held up with a black leather belt and black knee high boots. Black fingerless gloves with metal studs on the knuckles cover her hands. Her reddish-brown eyes look at the others exhaustedly, but also with excitement. Her name is Tess Amari.

Yuna starts to fall forward, but Tess catches her before she could. Yuna nods appreciatively at Tess before looking down to the Guardians. "We've done it. We have become Summoners." Yuna announces with excitement.

Tess, after making sure Yuna really was able to stand by herself, looks down the Ezriel and Vaed, her Guardians. "What are you two doing here?" She asks curiously.

Ezriel laughs and turns away, going to walk out of the chamber. "Very long story, we'll tell you on the way out."

* * *

Author's Note:

Sorry that this remained screwed up for a little while. But I hope I fixed it. Please review!

-Legendsofwoe


	4. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: First Steps**

As Yuna, Tess, and their Guardians walk out of the Cloister of Trials they get surrounded by the villagers that were eagerly waiting for them just inside the temple. All their worry vanished, replaced with excitement when Yuna announced she and Tess have become Summoners. They quickly rush Yuna and Tess outside to display their new abilities to the village.

As they pass Tidus and Evan outside the temple, Tidus looks at Yuna and Tess in surprise before he is grabbed by Wakka's arm and dragged towards the center of the village where all the villagers were gathering. "What? Ow!" Tidus exclaims in surprise.

Evan takes his time to walk around the group of villagers to find a spot where he could see Yuna and Tess from the back of the assembled group. "Now to see what you can do ladies." Evan whispers to himself.

Wakka and Tidus force their way through the group of villagers. "Wait till you see this!" Wakka says excitedly.

Tidus growls in frustration, still under Wakka's arm and facing the opposite direction. "I can't see anything!" Tidus yells, tossing Wakka's arm off him and turning to face Yuna and Tess.

The entire village had made a ring around Yuna, Tess, Kimahri, Lulu, Vaed, and Ezriel. Wakka waves to Yuna. "Ready." He calls excitedly, wanting to see Yuna and Tess succeed in her first summoning.

Yuna turns her head to Wakka and nods. "Okay." She says quietly, nervously. Yuna looks at her other Guardians and nods, signaling she's ready.

Tess cracks her knuckles and grabs her sais, which are engraved with Yevon glyphs, which allow her to use them for summoning. "This is going to be so great!" She exclaims in excitement.

They all step back into the crowd to give Yuna and Tess room to work. Ezriel and Vaed started chanting, "We know you can! We know you can!" And soon the entire village was following the chant.

Yuna blushes in embarrassment, but she closes her eyes and calms herself while Tess just rolls her eyes at their antics. They focus their minds and her energies, forcing everything else away. The crowd quiets down as they begin to gesture with her arms.

A circle of green energy appears onto the ground around them with ancient symbols within it. The circle pulses and with each pulse a stream of energy shoots into the sky, making an exact match of the circle and symbols. As the circle completes itself in the sky it glows blue, sending a shockwave through the sky that forces the clouds to part.

The circles shatter and a large, bird-like creature flies down into the ring of villagers. It lands facing Yuna and Tess, examining them closely. Yuna takes a hesitant step towards her new Aeon, Valefor while Tess holds her ground. After a moment of examining each other, Yuna slowly lifts her hand and leans in to pet Valefor. Valefor responds by leaning forward and letting Yuna pet her. After getting a little more comfortable with each other, Yuna pets Valefor more confidently, and Valefor enjoys it while Tess just stares at the Aeon in awe.

The crowd lets out a pleased gasp and starts to applaud Yuna and Tess for their good work. All the Guardians come back into the circle to congratulate them for their first successful summon. Valefor spreads her wings and flies off, disappearing into the sky. Yuna watches her leave then she looks around at the villagers, smiling pleasantly.

Yuna's eyes meet Evan's as she looked around, and her smile faltered for a moment before returning. Evan smiles a half smile and claps along with the villagers. But as the villagers rush in to congratulate them, her view of Evan is obscured and she could see him anymore.

Tess caught a glimpse of Evan and a mischievous smirk appears on her lips as she pushes her way through the crowd. Once out she walks over to Evan and gives him a hug. "How'd I do?"

Evan smirks and chuckles. "I'd say sub-par. Yuna was doing the real work." Evan says teasingly.

Tess' eyebrow twitches and she punches Evan in the shoulder. "Oh really? Why don't we have a little sparring match?"

Evan laughs nervously and holds up his hands in a placating gesture. "No, really that's fine. I really don't want to. I've got some work to do anyway." Evan says before turning to go back to his cabin.

Tess smiles mockingly. "What? Afraid you'll get your butt whooped again?"

That makes Evan stop and ball his hands into fists. He turns and gives Tess a cold stare before realizing that the whole village was watching the display. Ezriel walks up with his arms crossed. "Come on, are you too scared to fight your little sister? Man, no wonder you're not coming with us. A wimp like you wouldn't stand a chance."

Evan grits his teeth and cracks his neck before letting out a resigned sigh. "Fine." He says and walks towards the center of the village.

Tess smiles teasingly and follows him. "Oh this is going to be good." They stand facing each other and start stretching out. The villagers start making a ring around them again. "Tell me, what your track record against me is." Tess asks as she removes her sais and places them on the ground.

Evan remains silent as he glares at Tess. Vaed steps forward with a smirk. "In the forty-five fights you've been in, Evan hasn't won once."

Tess beams at Vaed. "Thanks." Then she looks at Evan. "Ready for your forty-sixth loss?"

Evan teeth could be heard grinding together. "Just shut up, will you?"

Tess laughs mockingly. "Oh, struck a nerve? You'll get over it."

Wakka watches with his arms crossed. He looks at Yuna seriously. "You want the honors?"

Yuna nods and steps forward. Evan and Tess get into fighting stances and go silent. "Ready? And begin."

Tess immediately rushes at Evan and goes for a straight left jab. Evan dodges to the left just before it would have hit him and goes for a side kick towards Tess' head. Tess bends down to avoid the kick and throws three quick punches to Evan's chest, stunning him, followed up by an uppercut to his jaw.

The strength of the uppercut picks Evan off the ground. He immediately flips with it and lands on his hands and feet. Pushing forward Evan pulls back his right arm and throws a powerful right jab at Tess' face. Tess straightens and crosses her arms in front of her, blocking the attack.

Tess slides backwards a few inches before jumping forward. She aims a kick to the side of Evan's knee, which brings him down on it. Then she uses his knee as a boost to flip backwards and kick him squarely under the chin. Evan launches into the air and flies over the heads of the villagers, landing on the ground with a great thump.

Tess looks over at Evan with a victorious smile. "That's zero wins and forty-six losses now."

Wakka shakes his head dejectedly. "And he wants to enter the martial arts competition."

Tess looks at Wakka in shock before laughing loudly at Evan. "Wow, you in the tournament? No way. You're not nearly good enough."

Evan at this time was in a sitting position, his head down and his hair a curtain to hide his face. A voice inside his head whispers to him. _"You can't defeat a little girl. How pathetic."_ The voice taunts darkly.

Evan growls and punches the ground, actually making a small dent in the ground. "Shut up!" Evan snarls viciously before getting to his feet and walking quickly back to his shop with the whole village laughing at him.

Yuna wasn't laughing at all, she takes a step to go to Evan, but stops, suddenly unsure. She looks away, biting her lip before turning fully away and walking to the villagers who were deciding on the celebrations.

* * *

The village started preparing for the celebrative bonfire in the middle of the village. As the sun fully sets over the ocean the bonfire was lit. Yuna and Tess sit with some of the villagers, talking and laughing about old times, with Kimahri and Lulu standing guard over her. Wakka is introducing Tidus to the Aurochs, telling them that he would be on the team for the Blitzball tournament in Luca.

Ezriel, now wearing black khaki pants and black combat boots, and Vaed sit together on the opposite side of the bonfire with their backs to it, watching the entrance of the village. Ezriel picks up a small rock and tosses it at the gates. "Can't believe this is gonna be out last night in Besaid for a while and we're doing guard duty." Ezriel complains with a frown. "Going out and traveling with our friends. And we can't even celebrate."

Vaed smirks and snorts in amusement. "Well, we're going to be traveling. I figured we'd give the other knights a knight off to celebrate. But someone has to do guard duty." Vaed's eyes fall to the ground, looking nervous. "It'll be my first time away from the village."

Ezriel smiles widely at Vaed. "Dude, you're gonna love it out there. So much more excitement than here, it's awesome." Ezriel says excitedly. "New sights and we're traveling with our best friends. It's going to be awesome." Ezriel says enthusiastically before frowning. "It's sad that Evan isn't going to come though."

Vaed rolls his eyes in annoyance. "It's his own fault. After what happened between Yuna and him I'd be very surprised if asked him to be her Guardian. And with Tess, well I doubt they could go a day without fighting."

"Yuna hasn't asked me, neither has Tess." Ezriel and Vaed look to their left and see Evan standing there, two long rectangular boxes under each of his arms. Evan sits down next to them, setting the boxes to his side opposite Ezriel and Vaed. "Look, I know I haven't been the best friend you guys wanted or the best brother or the best son or the best anything really. I understand why everyone doesn't really like me." Evan sighs dejectedly, looking at the ground in shame.

Vaed looks at Ezriel with a look that said "Keep your mouth shut." Then he turned his attention back to Evan, hoping to get some answers out of him. "You know, if you would actually talk about why you left for five years, maybe the villagers would actually understand and accept you." Vaed says firmly but friendly.

Evan shakes his head, looking tired and sad. "Now isn't the time. I'm not here to defend my actions. You can think what you want, and I'll just keep doing what I'm doing." Evan smirks devilishly then. "Besides, I brought gifts for your trip."

Ezriel and Vaed look at each other in surprise then at Evan. "Gifts?" They say in unison.

Evan nods and grabs the first box and looks at the lid, the letter "E" was on it so he passes it to Ezriel. Ezriel looks at Vaed for a moment in wonder then opens the box. Inside was a whip that Ezriel had never seen before.

The handle was two feet long and wrapped in black leather with a crystal in the pummel. The whip itself was six feet long and had small razor blades coming out of the cord in every direction. Ezriel pulls out metal gauntlets from his pack and puts them on before taking a few steps away.

Ezriel starts testing out the whip, flicking it with accuracy at a tree and gorging into the wood. Evan steps up to Ezriel and points at the weapon. "Think of a black magic spell."

Ezriel raises an eyebrow for a moment before doing it. The whip starts emitting flames making Ezriel gasp in shock. "This can do black magic? Wow." Ezriel gawks at the weapon in awe.

Ezriel looks at the whip then back at Evan, gratitude evident on his features. "Thanks, man." Evan smiles and nods at Ezriel and then grabs the second box and hands it to Vaed.

Vaed opens his box and pulls out a bow with black wood and a nearly invisible string. Just above the handle is a large ruby embedded into the wood. Vaed inspects the tightness of the string then looks into the box. "There are no arrows."

Evan smirks and points to his own temple. "Target the tree and imagine an arrow as you pull back the string."

Vaed turns to the tree and points the bow at it and pulls back the string, imagining an arrow in his fingers. An arrow appears in his fingers, made of white wood and sharp metal for the arrow head. Vaed releases the arrow and it strikes exactly where he was aiming.

Evan crosses his arms and smiles proudly. "As long as you focus on your target, you'll never miss and you never have to worry about getting arrows since all you have to do is think about them. Though the trade off is that it takes your own energy to make the arrows, so you might want to take it easy for a while until you get comfortable with the bow."

Ezriel raises an eyebrow at him not really understanding. "Why are you giving us these gifts? I mean, we never really were the best of friends, like you said."

Evan shrugs nonchalantly. "I might not have been your friend, but you guys have been my first and best friends. No matter what happens I'll keep thinking that."

Vaed looks away, ashamed at how he had been treating Evan. "I wish you could come, man." Vaed says apologetically.

Evan snorts in amusement. "Like you said, Vaed, it's my own fault. Besides, it's not the last night we stay together. I'm coming as far as Luca."

Ezriel snorts in disbelief. "You're really going to enter the tournament? Man, I wish I could believe it."

Yuna walked over to them by then. "What tournament?" Wakka asks curiously.

Vaed nods to Evan. "Our local blacksmith is going to enter the martial arts competition in Luca this year."

Yuna looks at Evan, confused. "I thought you hated fighting, that's why you always avoided it when you had to. And why you always lose to Tess"

Evan sighs a little in annoyance. "Look, it doesn't matter right now. I have to enter the tournament, it's as simple as that." Evan says with a tone of unquestionable authority. Evan stands and nods towards the archway. "I'm going to go train for a little bit. I'll see you all tomorrow before we leave."

Yuna, Vaed, and Ezriel nod slightly as Evan turns and leave. Yuna watches him go quietly before looking at Vaed and Ezriel. "I'll be right back. I got to talk to him." Yuna says before running out of the village.

Evan was already half-way up the hill when Yuna finally catches up to him. "Evan, please wait."

Evan turns to her and holds her steady as she catches her breath. "What's up, Yuna?"

Yuna takes a deep breath and looks up at Evan. "I…I want you to become my Guardian."

Evan looks at Yuna in bewilderment. "Wow, really?"

Yuna nods and looks away. "I know we had a rough history. I've been debating asking you for a while now, but I want you to be there with me."

Evan looks away as well, balling his hands into fists. "We really haven't talked since I came back. I'm surprised, if anything else." Evan says quietly, looking up to the stars. "But I'm not who you really think I am."

Yuna looks back up at Evan, curiously. "What do you mean?" Yuna asks skeptically.

Evan looks back at Yuna, frowning slightly before smirking. "Come watch the martial arts competition. You'll learn everything there. And if after all that you still want me to be a Guardian, ask me again."

Yuna looks confused but nods in acceptance. "Alright." She says quietly and with that she turns and walks back down to the village.

Evan waits until she's at the bottom of the hill to look up in the trees. "Kimahri, I know you're there."

Kimahri jumps down from the trees and faces Evan. "Evan fight with Kimahri."

Evan raises an eyebrow in confusion. "Why?"

Kimahri points his spear at Evan. "Yuna ask Evan to be Guardian. If Evan even think of accepting, Evan must prove strength to Kimahri."

Evan turns to fully face Kimahri. "I don't want to fight you, Kimahri. Please." Kimahri growls and gets into a ready stance. Evan balls his hands into fists and growls himself. "Fine, if I have to prove my strength to you, you're asking for a beating." Evan gets into a ready stance as well.

Kimahri lunges at Evan, thrusting his spear right at Evan's face. Evan smirks at the last second before becoming a blur or motion, dodging the spear and driving his fist into Kimahri's gut. Saliva flies from Kimahri's mouth as the punch lands, driving the wind out of him. Evan removes his fist and steps aside just as Kimahri's hold on his spear slackens and he drops it to the ground. Kimahri falls to his knees and holds his gut wheezing in pain.

Evan looks down on Kimahri and scoffs. "Had enough, or are you going for round two?"

Kimahri looks at Evan in shock, still trying to get his breath back. Once he does he gets to his feet, still holding his gut. "Evan improve much since last fight with Kimahri. Evan hold back against Tess as well." Kimahri says with respect.

Evan narrows his eyes at Kimahri. "Keep that quiet for now. Please."

Kimahri nods and picks up his spear. "That why Evan left. Kimahri see now." Kimahri says before walking back down the hill. Evan watches him leave and sighs before continuing up the hill.

* * *

It was after midnight when he finally returned to the village. The bonfire was burning low as he entered the village. He stopped as he saw Wakka and Lulu arguing. Evan watches until Lulu starts walking towards the bonfire and Wakka walks to his cabin. Lulu sits down near the bonfire and watches the flames.

Evan walks up to Lulu and sits down next to her. Lulu tensed up as she saw Evan, but she completely ignored him. Evan looks over at Lulu and sighs. "He does look a lot like Chappu. I thought it too, you know."

Lulu just kept ignoring Evan, but Evan kept talking. "Look, we're going to be traveling, at least to Luca. So I thought we could maybe clear the air."

Lulu continues to ignore him. "Look, I know you didn't like that I left. Nobody did, but at least people acknowledge that I'm here. You've ignored me since I came back. Please, tell me what I can do." Evan looks down at the ground. "We might not be blood, but you're my sister, Lu."

Lulu sighs heavily and glares at Evan. "You leaving I could have dealt with. I took care of Tess along with the priests. I helped with Marcus' business while you were gone, selling what you two had made. But what you did to Yuna. I will never forgive you for."

Evan remains quiet, knowing that if he spoke now that he'd ruin any chance he might have at this. Lulu was only getting started and she kept on going. "When you left, she was devastated. She didn't stop crying for a week. After that, she went down to the docks, every day, hoping that you might come home. She did that every day and every day she'd come back she'd cry some more."

Lulu stands up, looking down at Evan with hate filled eyes. "She loved you and you broke her heart. Then you just came back…at Chappu's memorial service at that. And how did you act? You acted like nothing was wrong. No shame at all of what you did. How can you live with yourself?"

Evan remains silent for a moment before standing up. "It was so much worse than you thought, Lu."

Lulu draws her hand back and smacks Evan in the face. "My family and friends call me 'Lu'. You're neither. So tell me, what you did that was so much worse. Make me hate you more."

Evan looks to the ground, tears forming in his eyes. "The reason I left…is because Yuna said she would have given up becoming a Summoner for me." Evan says quietly.

Lulu's eyes widen in shock and rage. "What?" She asks not believing that. "She…you…bastard!" Lulu says, her anger doubling at Evan. She smacks him across the face five times. Evan didn't try to move or block it at all.

Lulu balls her hand into a fist and punches Evan, drawing blood from her nails on his face. "After all that everybody did to try to talk her out of it. And you could have stopped her. But you just ran away like a frightened child. You're worse than anything I've ever seen before."

Evan looks at Lulu with narrowed eyes. "Think about what I said, Lulu. You know how Yuna is, what would have happened if she didn't become a Summoner?"

Lulu growls and punches Evan again. "She would be happy. She would have been happy to live here with you."

Evan growls and takes a step towards Lulu. "She would have at first. But then we'd hear about how some other island or city was destroyed. She'd blame herself for it, and eventually she'd hate herself for it." Evan holds out his arms and showing Lulu the village. "Then one day, Sin would come and destroy the island once and for all. Her anger and hatred for what she could have done would have turned her into a fiend."

Lulu continues to glare at Evan, but lowers her hands. "So you left, making her want to become a Summoner again. Do you have any idea what you have done to her?"

Evan looks away, arms lowering to his sides. "I know what I've done. I've made a decision that didn't just affect me or Yuna, it affected an entire generation." Evan looks back at Lulu determinedly. "If Yuna can defeat Sin, she would be fulfilling her dream. Bringing peace to the world, maybe forever if we're lucky, and it'd only cost two more lives."

"Two?" Lulu asks, her glare becoming an icy stare. "Why two?"

Evan smiles sadly, closing his eyes and letting his tears run down his cheek. "I won't let her die alone."

Lulu gawks at Evan in shock. "You…" Lulu holds herself, feeling suddenly cold.

Evan wipes his eyes on his sleeve and looks away. "I wanted you to understand what I was thinking. You can hate me. I'd understand completely." Evan says and starts to walk away.

He didn't make it that far before Lulu's fist connects with the back of his head, making him wince in pain and look at Lulu. Lulu was glaring at Evan. "You'd better keep to that story, little brother. Otherwise I'll fry you alive." Lulu then pulls Evan into a hug.

Evan was completely caught off guard by that. Tears swim in his eyes again and he hugs Lulu back. "I'll be keeping to that with my dying breath, Lu."

* * *

The next morning, the sun high in the sky for mid-morning, Wakka, Lulu, Ezriel, and Evan are waiting just at the bottom of the stairs in front of the temple. Wakka was carrying a sword that would fit Tidus well, and it looked like it was clear and filled with water.

Ezriel had changed out of his regular clothes to black plate armor with the Yevon symbol painted in white on his chest. On his hip is his new whip and on his lower back is a travel pack just like the one Evan gave Wakka. In fact, everybody was now carrying one of the packs. They all were waiting for Yuna and Tess to come out of the temple.

Ezriel looks at Evan, seeing that he wasn't carrying a weapon. He was wearing his normal clothes, though a pack was strapped to his thigh and a travel pack was on his lower back beneath his coat. "You're too good for your own weapons?" Ezriel asks skeptically.

Evan snorts extends his arms. With a twitch in his wrists, two small blades extended from the inside of his coat sleeves just under his wrists. "Don't worry, I can take care of myself."

Ezriel looks at the blades a scoffs. "Man, those are supposed to defend yourself against fiends? What are you going to do if there's more than one?"

Evan shrugs and with another twitch of his wrists the blades retract. "I'll just have to be quick."

Ezriel rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "Not exactly the best idea, man."

Lulu sighs and shakes his head. "Leave him alone, Ez. If he says he can handle himself, he can handle himself."

This makes Ezriel look at Lulu in shock. "Lu, that actually sounded like a compliment. Did you and Evan make up last night?"

Lulu looks at Evan with a slight frown. "I can handle being around him. That's about it."

Evan laughs loudly. "So pretty much the way things were before, huh?"

Wakka and Ezriel laugh and smile, actually glad to see them on speaking terms again. Tidus comes out of Wakka's cabin and runs up to them.

Wakka waves his free hand at Tidus. "Hey, I have something for you." Wakka says as Tidus joins them and hands the sword to Tidus.

Tidus takes the sword and looks at Wakka in astonishment. "You're giving this…to me?" Tidus asks uncertainly.

Wakka nods and smiles at him warmly. "Yeah, use it well."

Tidus takes a few practice swings with the sword, it felt good to use it. Lulu looks at the sword. "That's the sword that you gave Chappu."

That makes Tidus look at Lulu then at Wakka in surprise. Wakka folds his arms over his chest and looks solemnly at the sword. "He never used it." He says sadly before looking back at the temple. "So where's our Summoners?"

Tidus buckles the sword to his belt and looks at the others. "Couldn't we wait at the boat? I mean we're taking the same one."

Ezriel cracks a smile at Tidus. "We'd be pretty crappy Guardians to leave the Summoners to travel fiend infested paths by themselves." Then the smile left. "This is our journey, we aren't starting without them. We're waiting. So be patient."

Tidus sighs and nods, not really understanding. Evan smirks and playfully punches Tidus' shoulder. "Don't worry, Newbie. We'll be leaving before you know it."

The door to the temple opens and Yuna, Tess, and Vaed walk out. Vaed was the opposite of Ezriel when it came to armor. His plate armor is white instead of black, except the symbol of Yevon painted in black on the chest.

Each of them is carrying a suitcase. Lulu actually giggles slightly. "You really don't need all that luggage." Lulu points out.

Tess nods in agreement, carrying a heavy travel pack on her shoulders. "Hey, it's all Yuna's, not ours."

Yuna smirks and looks down at the group. "It's not really my things, they're gifts for the temples."

Wakka sighs sadly and frowns at Yuna. "This isn't a vacation, Yuna."

Yuna looks at the luggage sadly. "I…I guess you're right." She says letting go of the luggage.

Vaed and Tess do the same as Evan walks up, carrying three of his travel packs, he hands one to each of them. "Put all your stuff in this. You can't fight with that stuff on your back." Evan bends down and opens the luggage. "Wow, nice stuff. And you're just giving it away to the temples? Wow." Evan says shaking his head teasingly. "Hold that pack open. We'll get this stuff packed in."

Yuna smiles appreciatively and holds the pack open. "Thank you." She whispers to Evan.

Evan nods as they pack the luggage and Yuna's large pack into the small pack, tying it around her waist so it was on her lower back. Tess and Vaed were doing the same to themselves. Evan finishes by putting the big travel pack inside the little one. "Okay, now that we're properly packed. We can start off." Evan says enthusiastically as Vaed and Tess walk to the group.

Tess looks at Tidus and smiles, walking up to him. "You're that guy that washed up on the beach, right?"

Tidus nods and scratches his head nervously. "Yeah, guess that sounds pretty lame."

Tess laughs a little. "You survived Sin. That's hardly lame. I really want to talk to you about it, once we get on the boat."

Tidus blinks, not really expecting that. "Sure. I would like that."

Yuna was taking a long last look at the temple standing beside Evan. "I'm going to miss this place."

Evan watches Yuna and nods. "Me too." Evan says before following the group, earning a curious look from Yuna. A moment later, Yuna goes and joins Evan and the group as they leave the village.

* * *

As it turned out, Tidus really was a newbie when it came to fighting. So everybody took the time to teach him basics as they climbed the path leading to the cliff that overlooked Besaid. By the time they reached the cliff Tidus had a good idea on how to fight.

As they get to the cliff, Evan, Tess, and Yuna take a moment and look down at Besaid Village from the vantage point. Evan puts a hand on Yuna's and Tess' shoulder. "Take your time." Evan says taking his time to look at the village as well.

Tidus was about to speak up, but Ezriel elbows him in the ribs. "Look, I know you're new, but please, don't ruin the moment." Ezriel whispers quietly to Tidus.

Tidus looks at Ezriel then at Evan, Yuna, and Tess, looking confused. "What's going on?"

Ezriel looks at Tidus for a moment then shakes his head. "Just don't worry about it, okay? Everything will be fine." Ezriel says with a smile.

That really made Tidus uneasy, up until that moment he got the impression that Ezriel didn't like him. "Okay." He whispers, but didn't sound all that convinced.

Tess and Yuna looks back to the group and nod. "We're ready." Tess says quietly before they walk over to the prayer stone.

Everyone was doing the prayer gesture to the stone, except for Evan and Tidus. Vaed looks at Tidus and smirks. "Besaid has a custom, that if someone is leaving the island, they should pray to this stone for a safe trip."

Wakka looks at the stone sadly. "Chappu didn't pray when he left. He said he'd miss the boat." But that memory just makes Wakka pray to the stone again. "Alright, that should do it!" Wakka says and stands up.

Together the group start heading down the path heading towards the beach. Evan was teaching Tidus pointers on how to fight certain fiends, and which fiends to leave to the others. Evan kept doing that until Kimahri jumped down from one of the ruins to land right in front of Tidus, roaring in challenge.

Evan looks at Kimahri and smirks before taking a few steps back. "Good luck, Newbie."

Tidus looks at Evan incredulously. "Really? This is when you decide to hold back information. I might need some help here."

Evan shakes his head, though the smile was still in place. "Sadly, I can't. This is to test what you can do." Evan walks on, letting Tidus deal with Kimahri on his own. He soon catches up to the group, his hand behind his head as he walks.

Tess looks back, looking for Tidus, but seeing only Evan. "Hey, where's Tidus?"

Evan nods his head back the way they came with a smirk. "He's back that way, fighting with Kimahri."

Tess and Wakka abruptly stop and turn on Evan. "What?!" They yell in unison and run off back the way they came with Lulu, Vaed, and Ezriel following them.

Yuna turns to Evan, looking serious. "You should have said something sooner, you know?"

Evan shrugs and keeps walking. "Come on, Kimahri won't kill him. He's just seeing if Tidus can fight." Evan says then looks back at Yuna. "You know if I thought he was in trouble I wouldn't have left him." Evan holds out his hand for Yuna. "Come on, Yuna. They'll catch up."

Yuna looks back the way they came, worried slightly then back at Evan's outstretched hand. Yuna sighs in reluctance and walk up to Evan. Together they continue on towards the beach.

Yuna looks up at Evan as they walk. "Why can't I ask you to be my Guardian?"

Evan smirks at Yuna. "Was wondering how quick you'd get to that." Evan says with a laugh before looking forward and becoming serious. "I want you to ask me when you know more about me."

Yuna shakes her head. "I don't understand. We were friends for so long and…" Yuna starts blushing. "And our relationship. I thought I knew you better than anyone."

Evan nods and smirks. "You do know me more than anyone. But you don't know everything. And some of the things you don't know, might make you not want me around." Evan says putting his hands in his pockets.

Yuna looked even more confused. "And you can't tell me what that is?"

Evan shakes his head, frowning heavily. "It'd be too complicated to explain. Plus, some of it, you aren't ready to hear."

Yuna looks at the ground as they walk. "I doubt there is anything that'll make me think that differently about you."

Evan looks away from her, shaking his head in denial. "Don't say that till you know exactly what you're saying that to." Evan says quietly.

Yuna looks at Evan and smiles, taking his right hand in her left. "From what I know of you, there's nothing you could have done that's so bad that I wouldn't want you as a Guardian."

Evan looks down at their joined hands then at Yuna before smirking. "Maybe, but let's not worry about that now. We're on the first steps towards a great adventure. Let's make the best of it."

Yuna smiles and nods in agreement. "Right!"

Suddenly Evan's head snaps forward, his body following him, and he hits the ground hard. Looking up, he sees the furious eyes of Tess glaring down at him. "What the hell were you thinking?! Leaving Tidus alone to face Kimahri?!" Tess yells angrily.

Evan gets to his feet and glares at Tess. "I was thinking that maybe it was his chance to get some experience and to let Kimahri judge his abilities!" Evan yells, getting angry as well as the rest of the group catches up.

Tess stomps on the ground and cracks her knuckles. "So one of the worst fighters in the village now gets to decide who fights for what?! That's bullshit, Evan!"

A vein throbs near Evan's temple in anger. "Worst fighter?! I'm not the worst fighter!"

Tess balls her hand into a fist and punches Evan in the face, sending him down the slope and on the path that leads to the beach. "Worse than me! Now let that be a lesson for you to learn your place in the group!"

Tess angrily stomps down the ramp and past Evan who was sitting on the ground rubbing his cheek. Yuna runs up to Evan and bends down beside him. "Are you okay?"

Evan was glaring at the dirt and shaking in anger. "One of these days, she's going to learn her place."

Lulu walks up to Evan and Yuna and holds out her hand for Evan. "I don't see why you haven't before."

Evan takes Lulu's hand and gets to his feet with Yuna. "I just can't. I promised."

Lulu puts her hand on her forehead and shakes her head in disbelief. "I can't believe what a moron you are sometimes." Lulu says before walking towards the beach.

Evan and Yuna follow Lulu onto the beach and stop as they see everyone in the village there waiting for them. Everybody was talking to the group, wishing them luck and saying their goodbyes. Everybody escorted the group towards the dock and the waiting ship. The group boards the ship, several villagers weeping for them.

Yuna and Tess wave their goodbyes from the deck of the ship. "One of us will become a High Summoner and bring on the next Calm! I swear it!" Tess yells to the villagers getting a cheer.

"Goodbye!" Yuna yells to the villagers waving her arms in farewell as the boat anchors lift and the boat departs from Besaid.

* * *

Author's Note:

Sorry that this remained screwed up for a little while. But I hope I fixed it. Please review!

-Legendsofwoe


	5. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: First Encounter**

The afternoon sun glares down on the S.S. Liki as it travels over the ocean. The breeze of its passage makes the temperature nice instead of overly warm. The group mainly stands around relaxing and enjoying the weather and the boat ride.

Yuna and Tess are up on the front deck with Kimahri watching over them, being admired by some of the passengers of the ship. Lulu, Wakka, and Vaed are standing off to the side also watching Yuna and Tess. Ezriel is below decks, discussing possible strategies for the Blitzball tournament in Luca. Evan is on the upper deck going through a martial art sequence. And Tidus is bothering a girl for her binoculars.

Tidus goes up to her, does a series of somersaults and tumbles around her, and finally grabs the binoculars. Looking through them he sees Kilika port, then he looks over to Wakka, Lulu, and Vaed, then Yuna, Tess, and Kimahri. Tess spots him and waves at him. The owner grabs her binoculars back from Tidus, glaring up at him as he scratches the back of his head and laughs nervously.

Wakka looks over at Tidus and smirks. "The kid is funny, I'll give him that." Wakka says appreciatively.

Lulu looks over too before looking back up at Yuna and Tess. "Funny is a way to put it, I guess." Lulu looks at Vaed. "What'd you get off him?"

Vaed shrugs, causing his armor to clink. "Not much, really, I talked to him a bit in the temple. He's definitely a good guy. Merely mentioning that Yuna and Tess could be in trouble and he was about to run into the Cloister after them. Strong headed and stubborn, but definitely has his heart in the right place."

Wakka laughs a little. "Yeah, and to think he thinks he's part of the Zanarkand Abes."

Vaed looks over at Wakka with a raised eyebrow. "Evan didn't tell me that part."

Wakka laughs a little more. "Yeah, it's kind of ridiculous, but it's definitely a side effect to Sin's toxin."

Vaed looks to the floor in concentration. "I know that memory loss is a known effect of the toxin, but hallucinations? That's a new one."

Lulu looks back at Vaed in wonder. "So you think he's telling the truth? That he's from the sacred city destroyed a thousand years ago?"

Vaed shakes his head and smiles. "No, I don't think that. But the truth is sometimes more complex than we can think possible."

Wakka raises an eyebrow in confusion at Vaed. "So what do you think?"

Vaed sighs and shrugs in mild frustration. "It's too early to say. Every possibility I can think of is less likely than the last, and I'm not entirely comfortable in sharing such harebrained ideas until I can get some evidence to back it up. Maybe I'll have a conversation with him." Vaed says looking at Tidus in wonder. "There is definitely something that feels off about him."

The group disperses from around Yuna and Tess, and Tess walks up to Tidus. "Hey, how's it going, Blitzball whiz-kid?" Tess says teasingly.

Tidus smirks at her. "Hey, yourself, I'm just looking around, right now. Want to join me?" Tidus asks pointing his thumb to the back of the boat.

Tess smiles and nods before looking at Vaed and whistling. Vaed looks and comes walking over. "What's up?" Vaed asks looking between Tess and Tidus.

"New guy wants to explore the boat a little. Thought I'd join him. And since you're anal about your duties, thought you'd come along too." Tess says teasingly to Vaed.

Vaed looks back at Wakka and Lulu and points to Tess and Tidus, letting them know to continue their conversation before turning back to the others. "Please, lead the way."

Tess and Tidus start walking, with Vaed several steps behind them, and despite the armor, remained completely silent. "One of these days, V, I'm gonna need to take a bath. What are you going to do then?"

Vaed shrugs from behind her. "Take guard outside where you're bathing to make sure no delinquent gets in." Vaed says giving a powerful glare to Tidus.

Tidus holds up both hands in a placating gesture. "Whoa, I would never do anything like that." Tidus says defensively.

Tess turns on Tidus with her hands on her hips, looking annoyed. "So you don't think I'm pretty enough to spy on?"

Tidus looks horrified at that. "No…I'd….well…" He stutters looking from Vaed to Tess and back.

Vaed chuckles humorously. "We're only messing with you Tidus."

Tess punches Tidus playfully on the arm. "Yeah, it's what we do to everybody. Especially Evan, he's an easy target."

Tidus looks at Tess suspiciously. "From how you've acted towards him, I would have thought you don't like him."

Tess shrugs and starts walking again. "I love Evan, he's my big brother. He's the one that helped raised me when my mother died. Since Lu was training to be a black mage and dad went on the pilgrimage with Lord Braska, Yuna's father. He taught me how to defend myself, how to fight with fiends, a lot of things. When I found out that I could be a Summoner he supported me when everyone else was against it."

Tidus looks confused by that. "Okay, then why treat him like you've been doing?"

Tess sighs and leans against the back railing of the boat. "He was always the oddball of the family. The trouble-maker, yet my dad doted on him. My dad was strict on him from as long as I can remember. I guess I picked up most of it from my dad. Then six years ago, he just up and left the island, same day as my dad. I thought he went to join him, but Evan swears up and down that he didn't run into dad once during his journey. I sort of resented him for leaving, but when he came back he was pretty much the same. More secretive, but the same idiot I remember."

Tidus looks up towards the upper deck and nods in understanding. "He seems like a good guy from what I gathered from him."

Tess nods looking out to sea." Yeah, he is." Then she looks at Tidus with a smile. "But, enough about me and my family, tell me about Zanarkand."

Tidus groans and looks away. "Wakka told you about that?"

Tess nods and giggles a little. "You kidding? He hasn't shut up about it. Thinks it's quite a funny story."

Tidus sighs reluctantly and looks around. "Well, it's a large city, way bigger than Besaid. The buildings are huge, like they can touch the sky themselves. And at its center, the big Blitzball stadium. Every time there was a big game, the stadium was packed full, and the crowd always cheered you on."

"And the city is always lit up, so even when it gets dark the city shines bright?" Tess asks with a knowing smile.

Tidus was at a loss for words for a moment. "How do you know that?"

Tess wipes a few stray hairs away and smirks. "Another man from Zanarkand told me, my dad's friend, Jecht."

Tidus looks away, anger evident in his posture. "My father…his name is Jecht."

Tess blinked in disbelief. "No way, you're Sir Jecht's son?"

Tidus thinks about it and shakes his head. "My old man's dead, he went out to sea to train 10 years ago. He never came back."

Tess bows her head to Tidus. "I'm sorry to hear that." Then her head snaps up to look at Tidus in surprise. "But I met Sir Jecht 10 years ago. If you're here, then that means he could have gotten here too. So it could be the same Jecht."

Tidus looks at Tess skeptically. "So you believe me now?"

Tess raises an eyebrow and smirks challengingly. "Does the Sublimely Magnificent Jecht Shot Mark Three mean anything to you?"

Tidus just stares at Tess before leaning against the rail beside her and looks out to sea. "So my old man came to Spira. I can't believe it." Tidus says lowering his head. "My old man was a jerk, always making fun of me, always saying I'll never be good enough." He clenches his fists. "And my mom was always his ultimate fan. She always ignored me when he was around. I wasn't wanted by either of my parents. But just the thought of my dad makes me angry."

Tess looks at Tidus sadly. "I'm sorry to bring it up. The Jecht I knew was a very nice man. Sad, but nice." Tess smirks and nudges him with her shoulder. "But if you're old man and my dad's friend is the same person, then I believe you."

Suddenly Vaed lets out a gasp, holding his head with one hand, his other going for his bow. "Something is coming." He says tersely, looking down at the water beside the boat.

* * *

The group disperses from around Yuna and Tess and Tess goes off to talk to Tidus. Yuna looks around the boat and sees Evan training by himself up on the upper deck. She walks over towards the stairs, with Kimahri close behind, and walks up. She stops near the top and just watches as Evan keeps going.

Yuna watches him throw punches and kicks, his eyes focused, yet clouded like he is in his own little world. She also noticed that it's been several hours since they've gotten on the ship, and since they got on, Evan has been up here training. Evan didn't show any signs of it though. He wasn't short of breath, wasn't sweating, and he didn't look tired at all.

Yuna didn't know much about fighting, but even the most experienced fighters needed to take a break. "Wow, that's amazing." She whispers quietly.

Evan stops, looking out to sea. "You're wrong." He says defiantly.

Yuna's eyes widen and she blushes in embarrassment. "Excuse me?"

Evan jumps in fright and spins to face Yuna, putting a hand on his heart. "Jeez, Yuna, you scared the crap outta me." Evan says taking a deep breath to calm himself.

Yuna couldn't help it, she laughed. "I'm sorry, I thought you knew I was here."

Evan chuckles nervously and scratches the back of his head. "Nope, not till you almost gave me a heart attack." Evan chuckles and waves for them to join him. "Come on up."

Yuna nods and walks up, with Kimahri standing by the stairs, keeping watch. She leans on the railing looking over the people of the boat and the ocean. "So what's wrong?" At Evan's confused look she gives him a serious stare. "When you finished, you said 'You're wrong.' So what's wrong?"

Evan chuckles nonchalantly. "It's nothing, just talking to my imaginary friend." Yuna didn't look too convinced. Evan sighs and looks around before whispering to Yuna. "Want to meet him?"

Yuna looks at Evan, confused for a moment, and then she smiles. "Alright, how?"

Evan turns to face Yuna fully and she does the same. Evan takes her hands in his and looks in her eyes. "Close your eyes and clear your mind. I'll bring you to him."

Yuna closes her eyes and clears her mind. She learned how to meditate in her Summoner's training, so it wasn't anything new. She had never felt the temperature and sun disappear though. She felt water coming up to her ankles and hear the crackle or torches. Surprised, Yuna opens here eyes.

Yuna and Evan were no longer on the upper deck of the S.S. Liki. They were now standing in a very large, dimly lit, partially flooded chamber with nothing except torches, a very large gate and behind it is a large pile of beautiful white crystals. Yuna looks to Evan then around the room again. "Where are we?"

Evan taps his forehead with his finger. "Inside here that's why it's so empty." Evan says jokingly before looking serious. "Promise me you won't freak out? I want to introduce you, and then I'll explain."

Yuna thought about it for a moment. "Is it safe here?"

Evan looks to the giant gate then back at Yuna with a smile. "As long as I'm with, I promise you'll be safe."

Yuna takes a deep breath to steady herself. "Okay, I promise."  
Evan's smile brightens then he starts walking towards the gate. "Hey, I know you're awake. I want you to meet someone."

Yuna follows, trying to see over the pile of white crystals. "Who are you talking to?"

Evan grunts and puts his fists on his hips. "Hey! You started today's conversation, not me! The least you can do is pay attention for two freaking seconds to meet a friend of mine!" Evan yells in an annoyed tone, his voice echoing through the room.

There was a deep growl and a small section of the crystals shift, revealing a blue eye. Then the pile starts to shift completely, spreading out. Yuna lets out a gasp of horrified shock as realization dawned. She wasn't looking at a pile of crystals, she was actually looking at dragon scales of a very large dragon. The dragon was the size of a mountain, with shining white scales and blue-eyes.

The dragon let out a massive roar that shook the chamber. Yuna hides behind Evan, completely scared and shaking. When the roar ended, Evan rubs his ears. "Jeez, won't you please be quiet? My friend isn't used to you, so would you mind not putting on the massive dragon routine?" Evan asks still sounding very annoyed.

The dragon sticks its head through the gate and looks down at them. "Fine, I will meet her." The dragon says with its voice ancient, deep, and growling.

Evan rolls his eyes and steps to the side, showing Yuna to the dragon. "Yuna, meet the Ultima Weapon. Ultima, meet Yuna Kaname."

Yuna was still petrified, but she waves and bows deeply to Ultima. "N-nice to meet you." Yuna says shakily.

Ultima growls and bows his head in return. "Finally, some respect. I know of you, Yuna Kaname." Ultima nods to Evan. "This one thinks of you quite often."

Evan's eye twitches and he blushes deeply as Yuna looks at Ultima in shocked surprise. "Shut up, you giant crystal turd!" Evan yells angrily.

Ultima narrows his eyes at Evan. "What was that, you insufferable brat?"

Evan raises a fist at Ultima. "You heard me just fine! It isn't my fault that you're head is filled with the same amount of rock you're made of!"

Ultima glares at Evan in loathing before looking back to Yuna. "Yuna Kaname, I bid thee luck in thy pilgrimage. You have a long road ahead, tread carefully." Ultima lies back down in a curl and closes his eyes. "Begone. You have much more to worry about than me." And with that Yuna opens here eyes, and she and Evan are back on the ship.

Yuna gasps and shakes her head to clear it, looking at Evan in awe. He was shaking his head too. "I hate it when he slams the door on me like that." Evan says with a groan, rubbing his forehead.

Yuna looks down, still shaking in fear. "I've never seen anything that big before. What happens if he crosses that gate?"

Evan smirks and points his thumb to his forehead. "Ultima can get out anytime he likes, the gate isn't locked." Yuna's eyes widen in increased fear, but Evan just smiles. "But I can handle him. He's a pain in the ass, but he's a lot like me. So I figured if I wouldn't want to be locked up all the time I doubt he would either."

Yuna looks at Evan in shock and amazement. "You treat him like a friend, even though he doesn't like you."

Evan nods and smiles. "He's a Weapon, a fiend, a monster of monsters, and he's my friend. I treat him how I want to be treated, even if he hates me. I understand him, even if he denies it." Evan looks at Yuna, curiously and nervously. "So…" Evan's eye twitches and he looks away, gulping silently. "Are you sure you want to be around me?" Evan asks fearfully.

Yuna tilts her head to the side, giving Evan a strange look of bewilderment. "That's what's worrying you?" Yuna giggles and holds her hands behind her back. "You can be the strangest guy I know and you can have weapon inside you. I'd still want you around."

Evan's eyes widen in surprise as he looks back to Yuna then he frowns uncertainly. "Really? 'Cause I only get stranger from here."

Yuna raises an eyebrow in curiosity. "How much stranger?"

Evan looks down, blushing. "I-" Evans eyes widen and his head whips around to look at the water. "Oh no…not here! 'You have much more to worry about than me.' We should have taken that hint." Evan looks down at the passengers on the ship. "EVERYONE GET DOWN! NOW!" Evan yells in fright, dragging Yuna and Kimahri down to the deck.

The boat shudders and the once calm ocean turns violent and turbulent, tossing the boat around from wave to wave, drenching everyone on the deck with its massive waves. Those who didn't brace themselves were knocked over as the waves crashed into the boat. Then a giant grey fin rises from the water beside the boat. The people stare in awed fear at the sight.

"SIN!"

One shout got everybody running around in a panic. Sin's fin starts moving ahead of the boat, towards Kilika. Vaed starts trying to calm people down as Ezriel emerges from below deck, whip in hand, guiding people below deck. A couple of crew members rush to the harpoon launchers at the front of the boat as everyone still on deck rushes to the front of the boat.

The two crew members aim their harpoons at Sin's fin, readying to fire. Wakka sees what they're going to do and rushes over to them in exasperation. "What do you think you're doing?! Stick a harpoon in him and we'll all get dragged under!"

The one on the left launcher looks at the group watching them, desperation written on his and his partner's faces. "Sin is going for Kilika! We gotta distract it!"  
The one on the right launcher looks at Yuna and Tess determination showing that he will not be swayed. "Our families are in Kilika! Forgive us, Lady Summoners."

Yuna nods to them as Tess looks back to the group. "Ez, tell everyone below deck to brace themselves! Evan, tell the captain to go full reverse when we start getting dragged!"

Ezriel lets out a joyous laugh. "This is going to be wild! I love it!" He yells before they rush off as the two crew members fire off their launchers.

The left harpoon falls just short of the fin, but the right harpoon hits head on. The slackened rope quickly tightens and the boat shudders again as Sin starts to drag the ship. The waves created by Sin cause waves to leap onto the deck, drenching everybody as they hold on for dear life. Just as the waters start to calm Sinscales launch from Sin towards the ship.

Tess grabs two of the Sinscales before they open and kicks them overboard. "Alright! Wakka, Lulu, and Vaed need to hammer away at the fin! We need to keep Sin's attention away from Kilika. Everyone else, keeps these little bastards away from them!" They all nod and get to work.

Ezriel and Evan are on the back deck keeping the Sinscales away from the passage below deck, where the people are, and the captain's room. Ezriel swings his whip around, cutting into the fiends deep and making them stick to the whip. When the whip is full of dead fiends he drops to a knee and whirls the whip hard, sending the dead fiends into other fiends and knocking them off the ship. More Sinscales rain down to replace the ones killed, making Ezriel growl in annoyance. "That's just not fair!"

Evan rushes forward, his blades up his sleeves are out and slicing away at the fiends as he passes them. "I got this! Go help the other!" Evan yells to Ezriel as more Sinscales go after Evan. Evan makes quick jabs, stabbing his blades into the heads of the Sinscales before moving on to other ones.

Ezriel, who was hesitant to leave Evan behind, was now confident that Evan could take care of himself, turns and runs to the front of the boat with the others. Yuna stands behind Kimahri in the back of the formation, concentrating on her staff. Tidus and Tess are fighting the Sinscales in front while Wakka, Lulu, and Vaed attack Sin's fin behind them.

Ezriel runs to the front, whirling his whip around and killing several of the Sinscales before they got to Tidus and Tess. "I'll keep them busy, you two take on what gets by me!" Ezriel shouts over the roar of battle, getting a nod from a tired Tidus and an annoyed looking Tess.

Ezriel returns his focus to the fiends and starts whirling himself and his whip around, gaining momentum and room to work as he walks forward, getting into the center of the fight. Thinking of a fire spell, fire crackles to life around the whip, incinerating the Sinscales as it strikes them. But even as he cleared the deck, more Sinscales come in.

Yuna steps out from behind Kimahri and stretches his arms out, one in front and one in back. "Valefor come forth!" From the sky, Valefor flies down to the deck of the ship beside Yuna. "Go, attack the fin!"

Ezriel looks back to Valefor and smirks joyously. "Take over for a minute, guys! I got something I got to do!" Ezriel shouts before running back and jumping onto Valefor's back. Valefor looks at Ezriel indignantly before Ezriel scoffs. "We gotta distract it. I got something in mind." Ezriel says simply before Valefor launches into the air.

Ezriel stands on Valefor's back as they approach Sin with Valefor charging her overdrive, Energy Beam. Valefor fires it, cutting deeply into Sin's fin before Ezriel jumps off Valefor. Ezriel yells a battle cry as his whip wraps around an appendage. Ezriel roars in effort as plants his feet on the appendage and pulls while thinking of another fire spell. After a minute the blades in the whip start slicing into Sin's flesh, until it moves effortlessly through and cuts the appendage off.

Ezriel and the appendage start to fall, Ezriel hooting in victory. Valefor dives to get him, but couldn't get there in time as both Ezriel and the appendage land in the ocean. Valefor flies back up to the sky as Sin begins to sink back into the ocean.

The boat starts to get dragged under too, but before it could the launcher snaps off the deck, releasing the boat from Sin. As the launcher snapped off, it manages to clip Tidus and fling him from the boat. The boat bobs on the ocean before settling down. Wakka and Vaed, seeing Tidus get flung from the boat, look over the side. "I don't see him." Vaed says calmly before he and Wakka jump into the ocean.

As they swim downward, they see Tidus being attacked by Sinscales. Wakka takes aim and throws his blitzball with all his strength. The ball zooms in and pegs each of the Sinscales, killing them. Wakka and Vaed swim up to Tidus, who was seriously hurt. Wakka holds him still while Vaed casts a cure spell on Tidus.

Tidus comes to and looks around, only seeing Wakka and Vaed. He gives them a thumbs up before two dolphins swim past quickly, as if running away. They turn and see a giant squid-type monster approach them with several Sinscales flanking it.

Sinspawn Echuilles floats maliciously and prepares its tentacles for attack. Vaed, Wakka, and Tidus draw their weapons and swim forward, meeting on Echuilles' attack. Vaed and Wakka hang back a little, hitting Echuilles from a distance while Tidus rushes in and takes a direct offensive with Echuilles and the Sinscales.

Vaed fires arrows and Wakka throws his blitzball, trying to hit Echuilles in its head, but its tentacles block the arrows, making it take minimal damage. While Tidus attacks the Sinscales, Echuilles' tentacles strike at Tidus, draining him of his vitality. Then Echuilles' lower half starts spinning, forming a whirlpool that draws all three of them to it while it hits them with its tentacles before it lets them go.

As it lets them go, a whip lashes out and cuts Echuilles on its head. A cloud of darkness forms around its eyes, blinding it. Ezriel swims downward from behind Echuilles, getting directly underneath it. Copying Echuilles' blender ability, Ezriel whirls his whip around, making a whirlpool that draws down Echuilles and the remaining Sinscales.

The attack rips the Sinscales apart while catching Echuilles' tentacles and locking them together. Ezriel thinks of a thunder spell and lightning surges out of the whip, shocking the trapped Echuilles. Vaed summons one more arrow, this one glowing brightly and fires his Shooting Star overdrive right at Echuilles. The shot hits right between Echuilles' eyes, killing it while Ezriel pulls hard on his whip and rips Echuilles to shreds. Together they all look around and not seeing any more fiends they swim back up to the ship.

They all climb a rope ladder that was waiting for them and come back up to the ship as the sun begins to set. Tess, Yuna, Evan, Kimahri, and Lulu were waiting at the top for them. Tess walks up to Ezriel and slaps him on the back of his head. "What the hell were you thinking?! Flying off on Valefor to fight Sin by yourself?!"

Ezriel winces as he rubs the back of his head. "I was thinking that that was the son of a bitch that killed Chappu and that I wanted a piece of him for myself." Ezriel says defensively before smirking at Wakka, Vaed, and Tidus. "Bit off more than I could chew though, huh?"

Vaed looks at Ezriel in bewilderment. "That thing you cut off…that became that Sinspawn?"

Ezriel chuckles with a delighted smile. "Yeah, it was a pain, but it was fun too."

Evan sighs in resignation and shakes his head. "You're an idiot."

Ezriel whips around at Evan. "I didn't see you down there fighting with these guys. Why is that, Mr. I'm-so-smart?"

Evan looks at Ezriel blankly for a moment before turning away. Yuna giggles and steps over to Evan, addressing the group. "Evan can't swim."

The group looks at Evan in baffled silence before roaring with laughter. Evan grinds his teeth and blushes in shame. "Shut up, it's not that funny."

Several of the crew members were laughing with the group. "But thanks to you guys, Sin won't be attacking Kilika."

Suddenly Evan's head whips around and he runs to the front of the boat, the others following him. They could see Kilika village from there, but that wasn't what caught their attention. A large tidal wave was forming in front of it, heading right for the unknowing village. A speck appeared in the sky above Kilika followed by a large beam of blue light being shot at the tidal wave, followed by a large detonation.

The tidal wave didn't even flinch and with a shockwave of invisible force the tidal wave engulfs some of the village. Sin emerges and with another blast of invisible force starts shredding most of the village and sucking it into an invisible tornado that goes hundreds of feet into the air. Sin stays there sucking up all the debris before the onslaught stops and Sin sinks back into the ocean again.

Evan sinks to his knees, shock and disbelief emanating off him. "All those people…all those innocent people." Evan's hands ball into shaking fists. "Damn you, Sin." Evan spits out venomously.

The crew that had family in Kilika weep in despair and misery over the loss of their families. Tess punches the railing of the boat in anger. "All that we did while fighting him, and we didn't even distract him. He still got to Kilika."

Yuna looks at the destroyed village of Kilika, looking more determined. "I will defeat Sin. I must defeat Sin."

Evan gets to his feet, a scowl of anger etched on his face. "We will." Evan says before walking of f to the upper deck to continue training.

* * *

Author's Note:

Sorry that this remained screwed up for a little while. But I hope I fixed it. Please review!

-Legendsofwoe


	6. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: The Burden We Bear**

The S.S. Liki docks at the devastated Kilika Port, where several of the villagers waited for them to bark. The weary passengers got off the boat as soon as the ramp lowered to the dock. The group was the last to exit the ship and was greeted by the villagers who looked lost and hopeless.

Yuna gives them the prayer gesture as she approaches them. "I am the Summoner Yuna Kaname. I have come from the temple in Besaid."  
They all looked so they relieved to hear this. "M'lady Summoner." One of the older men say before they all bow before her.

Yuna bows formally in return. "If there is no other Summoner here, please allow me to perform the Sending."

"Thanks be to Yevon. Our loved ones, we feared they'd become fiends." An older woman says wiping tears from her eyes.

Yuna nods in understanding. "Please take me to them." The villagers nod and lead Yuna, Tess, Kimahri, Lulu and Vaed away.

Wakka and Ezriel talk with the Aurochs' before turning to Evan and Tidus. "We'll go see what we can do to help in town." Wakka says trying to sound cheerful.

Ezriel looks around at the devastated village and sighs. "I don't know how much use we'll be."

Evan nods towards the town. "Go on, I'll meet you after the Sending." Wakka and Ezriel wave before they and the Aurochs head into town. Evan nudges Tidus with his elbow. "Come on, Newbie. You need to see this."

They start walking towards where most of the villagers have gathered. "So what is a Sending?" Tidus asks, looking a little lost.

Evan smirks sadly. "Man, what I wouldn't give to be that clueless. Ignorance really is bliss." Evan says mainly to himself, though Tidus looked annoyed. "Sorry, I know you don't find it funny, but there are a lot of times I wish I didn't know what I know." Evan sighs dreamily. "A Sending is a ritual that Summoners do to lay the dead to rest. You remember those balls of light that float up from fiends when they're killed? Those are pyreflies, and they symbolize the soul of a person only people can emit them."

"Just people? Then why do the fiends have them?" Tidus asks curiously.

Evan and Tidus approach the congregation while Evan continues to explain. "The pyreflies do only come from people or something with a human soul in it. The best way I can explain it is this: people enjoy being alive. When they die they start to feel angry at dying and people still alive. That anger and hate turns the pyreflies into fiends."

Tidus looks extremely put off balance by that. "So every fiend we've fought was a person at one point or another?"

Evan nods and crosses his arms looking a little more relaxed. "As far as anyone can tell, that's the case, every time. But when a Summoner does a Sending before the fiends appear, then no fiends are created."

Tidus nods in understanding, though he still looked a little confused. "But what happens to the pyreflies?"

Evan looks at Tidus with a teasing smile. "You ask a lot of questions, you know that?" Evan chuckles and looks back towards Yuna and Tess who were talking with the villagers. "The Sending sends the souls of the dead to the Farplane, the spirit world connected to our world. There they can finally be at peace."

Tidus looks out to Yuna and Tess in amazement. "Summoners do all this?"

Evan nods then shushes him as Yuna turns to walk into the water.

Tidus looks around first, seeing that the crowd was larger than he thought. The entire village was there, the survivors on the dock watching on, and the dead in caskets under the water. The survivors were weeping in grief for the lives taken by Sin.

Yuna steps onto the water on her bare feet, not sinking into the water as she walks to the center of the caskets, her staff in hand. She looks at the setting sun before closing her eyes and taking a calming breath. She opens her eyes and begins to dance, twirling her staff above and beside her and spinning with her staff movements.

Several of the people watching fall to their knees and weep without restraint. "Ieyui." Evan sings as he watches Yuna dance.

Yuna bends down on her knees, twirling her staff over her head. Pyreflies start coming out of the coffins, floating in the water. "Nobomeno." Evan sings, getting some of the more composed people to sing with him. Suddenly the lanterns lit around the congregation glow blue and grow more intense. "Renmiri." Most of the people sing along with Evan.

"Yojoyogo." The water under Yuna's feet rises her up on a small geyser as she continues to dance, even as tears fall from her eyes. As she dances the pyreflies rise up with her, lifting off into the air, some disappearing. "Hasatekanae kutamae." The crowd sings and finally they couldn't take it, they all start weeping uncontrollably.

The pyreflies start to disappear and the geyser starts to lower Yuna and the lanterns burn normally again. "Hasatekanae Kutamae." Evan finishes alone, since everyone was crying.

As Yuna turns and walks back to the dock, Tidus is the first to speak. "It must be tough, being a Summoner." Tidus says in awe of what he just witnessed.

Evan scoffs silently and lowers his arms to his sides. "You have no idea, Newbie." Evan says sadly, his eyes never leaving Yuna. "But Yuna chose this path." Evan's right eye twitches. "She knew what it meant. All I can do is watch over her…until the end."

Tidus looks at Evan with a raised eyebrow. "Until the end? What's the end?"

The people around them look at Tidus like he's crazy. Evan sighs and steps in front of him to address the people. "Got too close to Sin's toxin. Please, excuse him." The people nod then begin to disperse and Evan turns to Tidus, noticeably more cheerful. "Until we defeat Sin, dummy. Either her or Tess will defeat Sin."

Tidus nods in understanding looking at Tess. "But it seems a bit much for one person to handle."

Evan shrugs and turns to look at Yuna and Tess talking to the villagers. "It is, but they chose to do it. They'll follow their hearts." Evan says admirably."That's their duty, Newbie. They'll do all they can to achieve their goals." Yuna, Tess,

Kimahri, Lulu, and Vaed walk up to Evan and Tidus. "We're going to go to the inn and rest. You guys want to come with?" Tess asks through a yawn.  
Evan shakes his head and stifles a yawn himself. "I'm gonna go see if I can help at all."

Yuna looks at the circles under Evan's eyes. "You're tired too, don't push yourself."

Evan sighs and smiles a little. "I won't over exert myself, but I can't really sleep right now. I'll do what I can then I'll rest." At the look of disbelief he was getting from Yuna he raises his right hand. "I promise I won't over exert myself. I'll do what I can then I'll go to bed. Okay?" Evan asks, getting a suspicious stare from Yuna

Vaed walks up and pats Tidus on the arm. "We're gonna help out, too. I'll make sure he gets some sleep here soon."Vaed promises Yuna with a sincere smile.

Yuna smiles and nods in appreciation. "Thank you."

Evan turns away and lowers his head. "I say it, I get looks of 'Yeah, right'. Vaed promises and suddenly it's believable. I swear, no one has any faith in me."

Tess pokes Evan in the back, smiling evilly. "You better keep your word. Because if I find you still up when I get up in the morning, I'll be sending you to Luca with the 'five knuckle express'." Tess says menacingly while cracking her knuckles.

Evan looks back at Tess and smirks. "Oh no, I'm so scared." Evan says in a bored monotone before walking away, waving over his shoulder at the others.  
Vaed and Tidus say goodnight and walk towards where everybody is working as well.

Yuna watches as Evan starts pulling out several tools from his travel pack and handing them to Vaed and Tidus as they walk towards where the others are working. Tess lets out a loud yawn and stretches. "Well, I'd say its bed time, I'm beat."

Tess, Lulu, and Kimahri start walking towards the inn while Yuna hangs back and continues to watch the others join in the work. She then turns and follows the others to the inn. They all get their rooms, and rooms for the others, and then they settled in for the night. Yuna lies on her bed, exhausted from the day's events, went right to sleep.

* * *

_**~Ten Years Ago: Bevelle~**_

The new of Braska's defeat of Sin has spread through all of Bevelle and everyone was out celebrating the start of the new Calm. Yuna, only seven years old, was out an about, beaming in pride when people told her what a hero her father was. She smiled and celebrated with them.

As night began to fall, a sudden sadness filled Yuna, one she couldn't explain right away. After walking through the crowds of celebrating people, that's when reality sunk in. Braska, her father, had defeated Sin and was now dead and now she was all alone.

Yuna continued to wander the streets throughout the night, trying to get away from the celebrating people. Eventually, she wandered up to the last spot she saw her father, on the bridge connecting Bevelle to Macalania Woods. From there she could see the Calm Lands, still battle scarred from the recent battle between Braska and Sin. At the thought of never seeing her father again, she started to cry. Loneliness and sadness consumed the small child.

The sounds of approaching footsteps caught her attention and she turned to see a huge Ronso with a broken horn. The sight immediately scared her and she took a few steps back away from him. He was big and scary looking, but something about him made her stay where she was, some sort of gentleness she didn't expect to see from the Ronso.

"Kimahri looking for the daughter of Braska. Do girl know where Kimahri can find her?" Kimahri asks, trying to sound friendly, though he also came across as uncomfortable. Yuna could tell that Kimahri wasn't used to being around children, so Yuna tried to be friendly.

"My name is Yuna Kaname, I'm Braska's daughter." Yuna said brightly.

Kimahri examines Yuna closely and nods in acceptance before bending down on one knee and holding out his hand. "Man facing death asked Kimahri to take Yuna far from Bevelle, as far as Kimahri could."

Yuna gasps in shock and surprise. A dying man, could he mean her father? At that, Yuna's eyes fill with tears and she runs into Kimahri's arms. Yuna cries her eyes out as Kimahri holds her, not saying a word.

* * *

_**~Several Weeks Later: Besaid~**_

Kimahri and Yuna get off the boat at Besaid Island. Yuna looks around in wonder at the island. She had never seen a place like this. The crystal blue waters, green plants and trees were an amazing sight.

"Wow, this is amazing!" Yuna exclaims in joyous wonder. Kimahri looks around, and tried to smile, but it came out fiercer than anything else, causing Yuna to giggle.

Kimahri shoulder their packs and begins walking. "Not far now. Village on other side of island." Kimahri says tersely.

They start traversing the path that leads to the island, Kimahri taking care of any fiends that dared to attack them. As they reach the ruins though, a large number of fiends surround them. Kimahri draws his lance and holds his arm out to keep Yuna back before he charges into the fiends.

Unbeknownst to Kimahri though, several fiends were behind Yuna, ready to pounce. Yuna, hearing their approach turns to them and shrieks in fear. Sensing Yuna's fear, the fiends rush and pounce at her.

A boy jumps down from above and smashes a smith's hammer down on the lead fiend's head, killing it. The boy stands in a battle stance, in front of the girl. "Come on! Let's see what you uglies got!" The boy cries out before charging at the remaining fiends from behind.

With powerful strokes the boy pounds his hammer onto the fiends, knocking them out and side before delivering the final blow to them. On the last fiend the head of the hammer breaks off of the handle and thuds on the ground next to the boy. The boy looks at the hammer with fearful eyes.

"Oh man!" The boy cries out in horror. "Marcus is going to kill me!"

Kimahri finishes his battle and looks at the boy and the dead fiends before rushing over to Yuna to make sure she's okay. Yuna, still frightened, tries to smile and nod, but the tears in her eyes showed just how afraid she was.

The boy walks up to them, holding the hammer head, the handle in his pocket. "You two okay?" He asks holding out his hand to Yuna to help her up.

Yuna takes it, using Kimahri's leg to steady herself. "We're fine. Thank you for your help." Yuna says to the boy. "Do you live in the village?"

The boy smirks and puffs out his chest. "I'm Evan, Evan Umera, Besaid's best fighter." Evan says full headedly.

Yuna giggles to herself. "You can't be, you're just a boy."

Evan looks at Yuna indignantly. "I happen to be eleven! I'm practically a man!" Evan yells in anger and shame.

Yuna giggles again and smiles. "I'm Yuna Kaname, I really appreciate your help there."

Evan looks at Yuna curiously. "Yuna Kaname…why does that name sound familiar?" Evan asks himself then shakes his head. "Oh well, it doesn't matter. Are you two going to the village? And who is this guy?"

Yuna nods and looks up at Kimahri. "We came from Bevelle, it was my father's wish before he died. This is Kimahri, he's been accompanying me from Bevelle."

Evan looks away awkwardly. "I'm sorry, about your dad." He says then points down the path. "The village is this way. I'll take you there, I'm on my way back myself."

Yuna smiles at Evan and nods in a friendly fashion. "Thank you."

Together, Evan, Yuna, and Kimahri finish the trip down to the village and walk through the archway leading into the village. The village had been rebuilt with cabins, and more were being made. Evan tries to lead them to the temple, but an older man stepped in his way. "What's going on, Evan? Did you get my hammer?"

Evan looks up at the older man then away in fear. "Marcus…I…" The boy tries to say before hold out the broken pieces.

Marcus takes the pieces then glares at Evan. "What happened?

Yuna steps up between Marcus and Evan her arms outstretched to protect Evan. "He broke it while fighting fiends to protect me!"

Marcus looks at Yuna strangely. "Who are you?"

Yuna lowers her arms and bows. "I'm Yuna Kaname from Bevelle."

Marcus gasps and takes a step back. "Braska's daughter?"

Yuna was taken by surprise by that. "You knew my father?"

Marcus nods slowly, looking sad. "When Marcus came to Besaid during his journey, I became one of his Guardians. But what are you doing here?" Marcus looks up at Kimahri. "And who is this?"

Kimahri looks at the group then down to Yuna. Yuna giggles up at Kimahri before looking at Marcus. "My father wanted me to come to Besaid when he defeated Sin. Kimahri told me that and he's been accompanying me."

Marcus looks at Yuna in surprise. "I actually completely forgot about that, otherwise I would have brought you home with me." Marcus looks up at Kimahri and bows respectfully. "I appreciate you taking time to bring Yuna here and respecting my friend's last wishes."

Kimahri looks awkwardly at Marcus before bowing in return. "Not a problem for Kimahri."

Evan mocks a gasp and holds his chest. "Oh man, he speaks!"

Marcus groans and smacks Evan on the back of his head. "Shut up, smart mouth."

Kimahri starts unloading Yuna's pack from his back. "Kimahri job finished. Kimahri leave now."

Yuna grabs Kimahri's leg, refusing to let go. "No! Kimahri, please stay! Don't go! Don't go!" Yuna says before she starts crying again.

Kimahri looks down at Yuna, conflicted whether to stay with her or not. Marcus pats Kimahri's shoulder and smirks. "At least stay for dinner, then you can decide whether to stay or not."

Kimahri thinks about this for a moment then nods. "Kimahri accept."

Evan, still rubbing where Marcus hit him, looks excited for a moment. "Hey, we killed some fiends on the path here. We can go get them for dinner."

Marcus looks at Evan and smirks, pocketing his broken hammer. "Alright, go get your sisters, they can stay with Yuna while we go get them." Marcus looks up at Kimahri. "Mind helping us out?" Kimahri nods and puts down his pack, keeping his lance in hand.

Evan jumps and woots before smiling at Yuna. "Oh man, you're gonna love it here. Marcus can cook anything! It's awesome!" Evan says excitedly before running off to get Lulu and Tess.

* * *

_**~Three Years Later~**_

Yuna is waiting up on the cliff overlooking Besaid, watching the sun set over the horizon. She had had a bad dream about her father fighting Sin where Sin survived, but her father didn't. It had shaken her drastically since, in that dream, her father died for nothing, leaving her all alone.

Evan runs up to her, a hammer strapped to his waist. "Hey, there you are!" Evan exclaims in agitation. "Do you have any idea how worried we all were? Kimahri was pretty frantic." Evan says nonchalantly, even though he looked immensely relieved.

Yuna smiles sadly at Evan then turns back to the setting sun. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to be alone for a bit."

Evan tilts his head and looks at Yuna curiously. "What's wrong?" Evan asks in concern.

Yuna shakes her head and wipes away her watery eyes. "It's just a bad dream I had."

Evan leans against the railing, watching Yuna. "Want to talk about it?"

Yuna sighs sadly and looks back to the sunset. "I was dreaming about my father. He was fighting against Sin, but instead of defeating him, my father lost. I woke up really scared, cause I felt like I was all alone, that all he did was for nothing." Yuna looks down, shivers rocking through her. "It's just sticking with me, you know? That feeling of loneliness and the thought that I really don't have a family."

Evan watches Yuna for a moment before snorting and chuckling in humor. "Wow, sometimes, you're really stupid, you know that?"

Yuna looks at Evan indignantly. "That's not very nice! What do you mean?"

Evan turns to face Yuna fully. "You're not alone. You have Kimahri, Marcus, Lulu, Tess, Wakka, Chappu, Ez, and V." Evan looks up with his eyes, thinking he forgot someone before the thought struck him. "And you have me. I'll never leave you like that, Yuna. I promise to be with you, always." Evan holds out his hand to her. "So don't go feeling lonely. We'll just make you remember that we're here for you, especially me. So let's go home, where you're new family is waiting."

That made Yuna smile and giggle to herself for her being silly. Though Braska did die, she wasn't all alone anymore. Since arriving on the island, she had made many friends with the villagers. Yuna looks from the setting sun to Evan. She and Evan had become really close friends since she arrived on the island. Even though Evan was an oddball and wasn't taken kindly by the other villagers, Yuna and Evan were hardly away from each other, except for when Marcus was training Evan.

Yuna nods in acceptance and takes Evan's hand. "Alright, lead the way." Yuna says before Yuna and Evan start running back towards the village, hand in hand.

* * *

_**~Present Day~**_

Yuna wakes up and looks out the window. It was still night, and the half-full moon was high in the sky. Yuna gets up out of bed and walks over to the window. A lone figure was still outside going through a martial arts sequence under the moon light.

Yuna walks out of the room and the inn to go to the figure. "I thought you said you were going to take it easy."

Evan looks over at Yuna and sighs before stretching out. "I am, just getting some exercise before bed." Evan says before yawning heavily. "What are you still doing up?"

Yuna smirks and looks up at the moon. "I had a weird dream, and then I saw you out here, so I came to get you."

Evan finishes his stretching looks at Yuna in curiosity while tilting his head. "Want to talk about your dream?"

Yuna shakes her head, giggling softly. "No, it was a good dream. It isn't something to worry about."

Evan nods and smiles in relief. "That's good to hear." Evan says before looking up at the moon. "I guess it is really late. And we have things to do in the morning." Evan says before looking back at Yuna with a friendly smile. "Ready for bed?"

Yuna nods and together they start walking back towards the inn. Yuna stops before going into the inn though, which stops Evan. "I promise this will be the last time I ask this before Luca. Will you be my Guardian?"

Evan looks at Yuna strangely before sighing and shaking his head. "This about the dream you had?"  
Yuna waits a moment before looking away. "I dreamt about when I found out my father was dead. Coming to Besaid and meeting everyone. Then about when I had that dream about my father seven years ago."

Evan is silent for a moment before looking down at his feet. "I want to be your Guardian, I really do. But I'm a lot weirder than you know. I don't want to accept before you know for a fact that you want me around."

Yuna looks back at Evan and blushes slightly. "I already told you though, I'll always want you around."

Evan smirks jokingly. "I wouldn't say that before you know exactly what you're talking about." Evan holds out his hand though, exactly like in Yuna's dream. "I promised that I'll always be with you, Yuna. I broke that promise once already. 'I promise to be with you, always.' I don't want break it again, so please, just ask me after Luca." Evan repeats from his own memory.

Yuna was shocked that he remembered what exactly he said, but the shock is replaced by a warm smile. "Alright, after Luca then." Yuna says before taking Evan's hand and they walk into the inn.

* * *

Author's Note:

Sorry that this remained screwed up for a little while. But I hope I fixed it. Please review!

-Legendsofwoe


	7. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Lord of the Jungle**

Though it was still early morning, most of the people in Kilika were out on the docks helping with repairs. The group, with the exception of Tidus, Wakka, and Evan, were all at the edge of Kilika's jungle waiting for them. Yuna lets out a long yawn, looking especially tired and disheveled.

"Didn't you sleep last night?" Lulu asks, sounding slightly concerned.

Yuna shakes her head to try to wake herself up. "I slept, but I had some strange dreams that kept waking me up. It feels like I didn't sleep at all."

Lulu lets out a long, tired sigh. "_This is going to be a long day."_ She thinks before looking at Vaed. "So, what did you and Tidus talk about last night?"

The group's attention shifts to Vaed as he is checking his supplies in his travel pack. "We talked about Zanarkand, his life, how he got to Besaid, and a lot of other stuff."

Ezriel raises a suspicious eyebrow. "Going to go into detail there or are you just gonna leave us hangin?"

Vaed laughs as he resettled his pack on his hip. "Mainly, I'm going to leave you hangin. The conversation only raises questions I'm not comfortable or unable to answer right now. But, he wasn't lying at all, at least in his words."

Tess perks up then, glad that someone else thought Tidus wasn't lying. "See? I told you we could trust him." She says enthusiastically.

Lulu was still skeptical. "You don't think it's just the effects of Sin's toxin?"

Vaed shakes his head and frowns in thought. "Sin's toxin has some strange effects. With too much, it's fatal, but with only a little it can wipe out the memory of the one affected. Hallucinations might be possible for certain things, but on the scale of rewriting someone's entire past? I doubt that's what happened, something else is happening."

Ezriel laughs and turns away. "So the kid is from Zanarkand…please." Ezriel says sarcastically.

Tess puts her fists on her hips in annoyance. "Sir Jecht was from Zanarkand, too, if you don't remember."

Ezriel turns to Tess and chuckles humorlessly. "I was eight when I met the guy, you expect me to remember something I might've heard over ten years ago?"

Vaed smirks at Ezriel, smugly. "You use to have that ridiculous Mohawk and always pulled pranks with people's hair. Like when you and Evan replaced my dad's soap with a hardened hair removal potion."

Tess looks at Vaed outrageously. "How the hell do you remember that? I completely forgot about it!"

Vaed continues to look smug taps his forehead. "I've got a good memory. I don't forget anything." Vaed says nonchalantly.

Ezriel looks at Vaed uncomfortably before muttering. "So…you remember that time that…"

Vaed glares at Ezriel vengefully. "Yes, I remember. Don't think I won't get you back for that."

Lulu looks between Vaed and Ezriel. "What happened?"

Ezriel laughs nervous and waves his hand dismissively. "It's nothing, don't worry about it."

Vaed smirks looking at Ezriel mischievously. "I don't know, maybe they'd like to know."

Ezriel claps his hand over Vaed's mouth to keep him from speaking. "Don't you say a word, damn you!" Ezriel exclaims urgently.

Yuna giggles at their antics. "Now I'm really curious." Yuna says encouragingly hoping for them to continue.

Vaed lets out a muffled laugh before slapping Ezriel's hand away from his mouth. "Alright, I won't say anything." Vaed says before muttering. "Yet."

Before Ezriel could retort, Tidus, Wakka, and Evan walk up to the group, along with a villager. "But sir, that mine has been closed for years. No one can get near it with all those fiends." The villager says discouragingly.

Evan lets out a long-suffering sigh and smiles at the guy. "Don't worry about me, I'll go and clear it up for you. With the village as it is, you'll need the money for supplies and repairs, plus it might help you with the repairs." Evan says positively.

Yuna watches the exchange in curiosity. "What's going on?"

Wakka hooks his thumb at Evan. "Our blacksmith friend here found out there was an abandoned mine on the island that has some rare metal. But since fiends started pouring out of it, no one has been able to get it. Evan wants to go in, clear the fiends, and get the metal, while paying the village for it."

Ezriel looks at Evan like he sprouted a second head. "You're going to get the metal, defeat the fiends, and pay them for the metal? That seems a little dumb to me, dude." Ezriel says disbelieving that Evan would do something like that.

Evan looks at Ezriel with a disappointed smile. "It's their metal. It'd be wrong to not make some exchange, even if I'm the one getting it."

The villager steps in front of Evan, trying to block his way. "It's too dangerous. Many people have disappeared trying to get to the mine. I can't let you go there by yourself."

Yuna walks up beside Evan. "I'll go with him." Yuna says determinedly.

Evan laughs and rubs the back of his head. "We don't have the time, Yuna. You and Tess need to get to the temple to get the Aeon. We can't go to the mine and then the temple. We'd miss the boat and then Wakka would have a cow for missing the tournament." Evan looks back at the villager. "Don't worry, I can handle myself." Evan says trying to convince the villager.

Ezriel looks at Evan skeptically. "You're going into the jungle, fighting the fiends, then clearing the fiends out of the mine with only those little blades?"

Evan looks back at Evan in confusion before making his hidden blades slide out of his sleeves and examining them. "What's wrong with them?"

Ezriel sighs, putting his face in his hand. "If you're going to be around that many fiends, you're going to need a better weapon to deal with large groups."

Evan's face lights up as he retracts his hidden blades and he digs into his travel pouch. He pulls out a handle to a sword and starts pulling it out. The blade is double-sided, and over ten feet long and three feet wide of pure steel. Evan holds it out one-handed with little effort. "Would this be better?" Evan asks with a knowing smirk.

The group gawks at Evan's sword. "What the hell is that monster? And how the hell can you hold it like it's a knife?" Ezriel exclaims in shock and amazement.

Evan looks at his sword and smirks. "It's a variation of a zanbato. This used to be my training weapon."

Tidus looks at the sword and holds out his hand. "Mind if I try it?"

Evan shrugs and hands the sword over. "Be careful, it's heavy." Evan warns before letting the weapon into Tidus' hands.

Immediately Tidus and the sword hit the ground with a huge thud. "Holy crap!" Tidus exclaims pulling his hands away from sword which was embedded in the ground. "How can you hold that, let alone swing it?"

Tess laughs loudly and picks it up, handling it just as easily as Evan was. "You kidding? He's been practicing with this sword since he was five. My dad made it for me." Tess says tossing the sword to Evan.

Evan catches it and puts the sword on his shoulder then looks at the villager, looking completely at east. "Still think I can't manage by myself?" Evan says, practically daring the villager to say he couldn't.

The villager was awestruck at the demonstration. "Well, if you're that strong, I guess you can handle yourself." The villager does the prayer gesture to the group. "Good luck, everyone. May Yevon protect you." The villager turns and heads back for the village.

As soon as the villager was away, Evan puts his sword back into his pouch. "The thing might have good reach, but it's slow. I'm going to need to be quick." He says while digging through his travel pack. He pulls out a three-foot long war hammer. The head is made of obsidian rock. One side of the head was blunt and the other side has a pointed end to it, making both sides deadly. Evan lets it rest on his shoulder. "Ah, that's better." Evan says more satisfied with his primary weapon.

Yuna looks to Evan in awe. "You're really strong." Yuna says simply before looking at Evan worriedly. "Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself?"

Evan smiles brightly and nods. "I'll be fine and I told you I only get weirder." He says before walking past them without a care in the world. "Good luck at the temple, see you back in town when you're done." Evan says with a wave over his shoulder.

Tidus looks at Evan then the group. "What'd he mean by 'I only get weirder'?" Tidus asks Yuna curiously.

Yuna lets out a miserable sigh and shrugs. "I have no idea. And he won't tell me. At least until we get to Luca."

Tidus nods and watches as Evan disappears into the forest. "Maybe I should go with him. Since I'm the only one here that isn't a Guardian."

Tess suddenly looked uncomfortable and shy. "That reminds me...I wanted to ask you...if you wanted...t-to be my Guardian." Tess asks nervously.

Tidus looked dumbstruck by that. "Me?"

Wakka looks at Tess in shock. "What?" Wakka exclaims then shakes his head in denial. "He might be good in Blitzball, but up against fiends, he's a newbie."

Tidus looks at Wakka in annoyance and grumbles. "Why does everyone want to call me a newbie?"

Ezriel snickers to himself while poking Tidus' head. "Because that's what you are, Newbie."

Vaed laughs and pats Tidus' shoulder. "Don't worry, you might be new, but I saw you fight on the boat and against that Sinspawn. There's nothing wrong that a little training can't fix." Then Vaed looks at Tess carefully. "You okay? You actually sounded shy there. You've never been shy."

Tess glares at Vaed, but then transfers it to Wakka, ignoring Vaed. "Besides, Wakka, it's none of your business who I ask to be a Guardian. You're Yuna's Guardian, not mine."

Lulu glares at Tess in return. "That may be true, but we're traveling together. I'd think our opinions count."

Tess glares daggers at Lulu. "Listen, sis, it's my business who I want around me. If I want Tidus to join, I think that should be my decision." Tess says defiantly.

Ezriel looks between Tess and Lulu, seeing electricity spark from their eyes and takes a step back. "I think the knife cutting through the butter would melt from this tension."

Vaed chuckles nervously and steps between Lulu and Tess, holding his hands up to try to calm them down. "Okay, as much as I'm sure we'd love to debate about Tidus becoming a Guardian. I think we should hold this off till later. We do have a lot of walking to do and not a lot of time to do it."

The sisters continue to glare at each other before turning away, still looking ready to burst. "Fine!" They say at the same time, though Tess was more forceful while Lulu was quiet. Finally they walk into the jungle ready to start their trek through the woods.

The group walks forward, taking the path that leads straight to Kilika Temple. As they approach the bridge they notice Luzzu and Gatta, the Crusader's of Besaid, baring their path. Behind them is a large, plant-like fiend. Its two tentacles lash out at anything that attempt to approach it.

Gatta steps forward to address the group. "Company halt!" He commands, trying to put authority in his voice.

Ezriel raises an eyebrow at Gatta. "You know, that might work if I didn't know that you wet the bed till you were eleven."

Gatta glares at Ezriel and growls menacingly. "That was a secret, man." Gatta says trying to sound intimidating.

Tess, Tidus, Wakka, and Yuna giggle to themselves over that information. Vaed sighs wearily and steps up to Luzzu. "What's the problem?" Vaed says taking them seriously.

Luzzu salutes him with a small thankful smile. "The fiend before us is Ochu, Lord of the Wood. We've had trouble with this one before." Luzzu says pointing over his shoulder at the fiend. "While crossing the jungle, remember, discretion is the better part of valor."

Ezriel drops his travel pack and pulls out his whip. "Screw discretion! I'm calling dibs on this giant plant monster thing." Ezriel lets out a let howl of defiance and points at Ochu. "Prepare for one hell of a beat down!" Ezriel yells before charging into battle.

Vaed puts his head in his hands and shakes his head before sighing and smiling brightly at Luzzu. "You know how Ez is. Running in head first is his way to valor." Vaed says before pulling out his bow and looking back at the group. "Lulu, Wakka, and Yuna, could you please stand by in case the idiot gets himself killed?"

Ezriel charges at Ochu, his whip emitting small flames around it. Ochu

Throws a tentacle comes at Ezriel and smacks him into the air and into a nearby tree. Ezriel gasps in pain and slides down the tree to the ground. Ezriel gets to his feet with a groan and rushes Ochu again. This time, as Ochu sends another tentacle his way, Ezriel jumps to the side to avoid it, while wrapping his whip around the tentacle with a flick of his wrist.

With a quick and mighty pull, the flaming whip slices through the tentacle, making Ochu scream and shake in agony. While Ochu shakes himself the ground begins to shake , making Ezriel hit the ground hard and knocking the wind from him. As Ezriel was getting to his feet, Ochu swings his remaining tentacle at Ezriel, but Ezriel ducks down, avoiding the hit before leaping for a counter attack. This time, the whip crackles with lightning as Ezriel jumps up and lashes his whip into the small pool on top of Ochu. Ochu wails in agony and spasms uncontrollably from the electric shock. Ochu makes a belching sound, expelling the whip and shooting a large water ball at Ezriel.

Ezriel couldn't dodge the attack and gets sent flying back several feet before he hits the ground again, this time soaking wet. As Ezriel lies there groaning, a tentacle slams down onto him, trying to inject him with poison. Thankfully, Ezriel's armor keeps the tentacle from actually touching Ezriel's skin. Unfortunately, Ezriel's whip did land on him, and it was still electrified. Ezriel spasms in pain before he knocks his whip away, jumps straight to his feet, and jumps away.

Ezriel shakes himself, trying to get rid of the electrocuted feeling before quickly rolling to his left to avoid another water spell. Ezriel brings his arms up, ready to block an attack, but nothing happened. Ezriel looks at Ochu and cries out in outrage at the sight of Ochu sleeping. "YOU BASTARD! YOU FELL ASLEEP?"

The group starts cracking up with laughter at Ezriel, making him growl in anger. "That's it!" Ezriel exclaims before spinning his whip up over his head as it forms a miniature tornado. "Soul Tornado!" Ezriel yells and tosses his whip forward.

The whip encircles Ochu, but instead of just tangling him up, it starts to cut it all over, cutting it into ribbons. The pyreflies that escape Ochu get caught in the tornado and start to get absorbed into the whip. Once all the pyreflies were gone, Ezriel snaps his whip back and wraps it back up. "That's better!" Ezriel exclaims before turning back to the group with a smug smile.

Luzzu claps while Gatta lets out a cheer for Ezriel's victory. "I'm impressed. Maybe you should join the Crusaders." Luzzu says to Ezriel before giving him the Crusader's salute. Luzzu then turns to Tess and does the salute again. "Lady Tess, your Guardian here is a very impressive fighter. With him by your side you shouldn't have any problems ahead."

Ezriel smirks as he bows to them. "Thanks, you're right, I am awesome." Ezriel says concededly.

Tess laughs uncomfortably and looks at Luzzu and Gatta. "You can't take him off our hands? He's a big pain in the ass. I mean, look at him. One victory and he thinks he's the best." Tess says in a mock whisper.

Ezriel looks disheartened while everyone laughs at him. Luzzu and Gatta salute the group again before moving on with their duties. The group get ready and continue on through the jungle.

* * *

Evan swings his hammer, sending a Dinonix into a tree before slamming the hammer down onto a Ragora. Evan looks around, seeing no other fiends before continuing through the jungle. So far, Evan was a little disappointed. The fiends weren't all that tough, though the villagers complained that the fiend population was high in this part of the jungle. Admittedly, Evan was hoping the draw more of the fiends his way so the others would have an easier time in the jungle, but so far it wasn't overwhelming.

Keeping alert, Evan walks through the jungle, keeping his hammer ready just in case. After several minutes, and a few encounters with fiends, he finally makes it to the mouth of the mine. Inside was completely dark, nothing could be seen inside.

Then Evan's instincts told him something very very angry was coming. Through the mouth of the cave leapt a very large, three-tailed lion. Its body was seven feet tall and ten foot long, covered in an angry red furred coat, and fire covered its tails and its feet. Its red eyes glare at Evan and a furious growl escapes its large mouth filled with razor sharp teeth.

Though Evan could practically feel the lion's anger and hate, Evan could only feel pity for it, though he couldn't explain it. Before he had time to wonder why he felt pity for the lion, it opened its mouth and shoots out a stream of fire at him. Evan quickly jumps to the side to avoid the fire and was met by the lion who was swiping its claws at Evan with lightning quickness.

Evan quickly ducks down to avoid the claws and swings his hammer, smashing it into the lion's face. The lion stumbles back from the hit before roaring in rage and rushes Evan faster than Evan was expecting. The lion tackles Evan, slamming him to the ground, ready to bite at Evan's head. Evan brings his legs up to his chest and kicks the lion off him before rolling to his feet in a battle stance. _This thing is serious. I might have to kick it up a notch._ Evan thinks about ready to charge the lion.

The lion lands on its feet, ready to continue the fight glaring and growling angrily at Evan as pyreflies start coming off it. The sight of the pyreflies makes Evan stop and quickly drop his hammer. _That's not a fiend._ Evan thinks to himself while thinking quickly. The lion roars again and charges at Evan.

Evan prays silently to himself before putting his hands together in a praising gesture and bowing respectfully to the lion. "Please forgive me for fighting you, I thought you were a fiend." Evan says respectfully.

The lion stops right in front of Evan, still glaring at him. "Speak quickly, mortal. What do you want?" The lion's voice is deep, with an ancient accent of Kilika.

Evan stays bowed, thankful that his hunch was so far paying off. "My name is Evan Umera. I seek permission to enter the mine."

The lion's eyes narrow in suspicion. "None shall enter the mine until the wrong done to me is corrected."

Evan finally lifts his head to look at the lion. "What is this wrong? And how may I correct it, great spirit?"

The lion's eyes widen at the sudden respect that Evan was showing him. "I am Shisa, the spirit of fire, Lord of Kilika and the jungle. Long ago, many of the islanders praised me for protecting the jungle. But after time, the people stopped praising me. Finally, when they created this cursed mine, they defiled my shrine. For their transgression, I have stopped protecting them from the fiends, and I attack any that try to enter the mine. None shall until my shrine and my honor is restored."

Evan nods and stands straight. "If you would take me to your shrine, I'll do what I can to restore it." Evan promises with a smile. "And I'll talk to the villagers, if I explain the situation to them, they will be more than glad to continue praising you."

Shisa's eyes narrow again. "Why would you do this, mortal? You are not of the island. You are from far far away." Shisa asks suspiciously.

Evan smiles and bows to Shisa again. "I came to the island because it's a stop before Luca. I came to the jungle and this mine because of the metal that can be found in the mine. I didn't know you were a spirit, but now that I do, I want to help you. And from helping you, I can help the people who do live on this island that have feared you."

Shisa stares at Evan for several moments before turning away and walking towards the mine. "Follow, mortal. If you can help, I shall help you in return." Shisa says as Evan follows.

* * *

The group makes it through the jungle and to Kilika's great steps leading up to the temple. Wakka looks up there stairs and lets out a happy sigh. "These stone steps have a history, you know? Lord Ohalland trained here at his peak."

Ezriel rolls his eyes and glares at Wakka. "Yes, Wakka, we know. You only mention it every time we come here." Ezriel says wearily.

Wakka glares right back at Ezriel in annoyance. "I was talking to Tidus."

Ezriel blinks confusedly then looks at Tidus. "Oh crap! I completely forgot you were there, Newbie." Ezriel says in feigned surprise.

Tidus growls in frustration and walks right up to Ezriel. "You think you're high and mighty. I'll tell you what, the next fiend we come across I'll fight it alone."

Ezriel laughs and pokes Tidus on his forehead. "I'd actually like to see that, Newbie." Then Ezriel looks to the stairs and smirks mischievously. "Why don't we start with a race?"

Tidus smirks confidently and walks to the bottom step. "A race, huh? Think you can beat me?"

Ezriel laughs loudly and steps up beside Tidus. "I don't think anything." Ezriel says arrogantly.

Tess giggles humorously before stepping up beside them. "That's apparent every day, Ezriel."

Vaed chuckles silently before giving Ezriel an amused look. "You set yourself up for that one."

Ezriel waves his hand dismissively and turns to Wakka. "Want to get in on this race?"

Wakka thinks about it for a moment before shrugging and walking up beside the others. "Yuna, if you would."

Yuna walks up beside them and raises her arm. "Ready?" Then she begins running up the stairs, laughing at the others.

Ezriel's eyes widen and he points at Yuna accusingly. "Hey! That's cheating!" He exclaims indignantly as the others start running up the stairs.

Ezriel starts running up the stairs as well and stops as Wakka, who was already at the platform at the halfway point. "Everyone, quick! Sinspawn!" Wakka exclaims in fear before going back to the others.

Ezriel joins them and sees a giant rock-type Sinspawn hunched in on itself. It was easily twice the size of Ochu. Ezriel pats Tidus' shoulder while staring at Sinspawn Geneaux in awe and humor. "All yours, Newbie."

Vaed, already pulling out his bow, slaps Ezriel on the back of the head. "Now's not the time for that. Everyone, attack it!"

The group gets in front of the Sinspawn, ready to fight it head on. That's when three tentacles rise up from the ground, surrounding the group. Lulu launches a water spell at the shell, but it gets redirected at the tentacle. "Its tentacles absorb any spells cast at its body!" Lulu shouts in warning.

Tess stashes her sais and brings up her fist. "Maybe they can if you cast them from a distance, but what about up close?" Tess questions before slamming her fists together. "Fire Fist!" Tess exclaims before charging at the shell. Tess cocks her left fist back and throws all her strength into the punch.

The fist hits and Tess immediately pulls her hand back, holding it by the wrist, jumping up and down in pain and screaming curses. "That thing is harder than a rock!"

Tidus looks at the tentacles then at Geneaux, an idea forming in his head. "Maybe we have to get rid of these tentacles before attacking the shell." Tidus says before charging at one of the tentacles.

Vaed nods, impressed by Tidus' idea. "Alright, let's follow his lead!" And together they start attacking the tentacles.

One by one, the tentacles fall from their onslaught, until the last one falls to the ground, lifeless. Then the shell begins to shake and out from it, Geneaux emerges casting a cloud of poison onto the group. It was easily twice as big as it was in its shell and it looked plant-like and each of its fingers were long tentacles.

Yuna summons Valefor to protect them while she starts casting Esuna on the group, getting them ready to fight the Sinspawn. "Element Reels: Fire Shot!" Wakka exclaims while spinning his blitzball on his finger, setting it ablaze before throwing it full force right into Geneaux's face.

Vaed aims right at Geneaux's chest. "Shooting Star!" Vaed yells, creating an arrow that glows brightly before firing and hitting and piercing through Geneaux's in the chest.

Valefor, floating above looks down to Yuna for a command. Yuna points at Geneaux before shouting. "Energy Ray!" Valefor charges energy at the edge of her beak, letting a small ball of light glow brightly before shooting a small beam from the ball. The energy lances across Geneaux's body then explodes moments later.

Lulu holds up her hands and then throws them down. "Fire Fury!" Eight Fire spells rain down onto Geneaux, setting small fires all over it.

Kimahri gets some distance before charging forward and jumping up. He brings his lance beneath him and drives it right down onto Geneaux's head. After digging it deeper into its head, Kimahri removes it and jumps down, getting distance again.

Ezriel's whip burns once more with small fires as it wraps around Geneaux's hands and slices off all of its fingers. Ezriel smirks smugly at Geneaux before grunting with effort and spinning around. The tentacles, still wrapped up by Ezriel's whip, fly around and slap Geneaux in its face. "Yeah! Stop hitting yourself, bitch!" Ezriel says with a cheer.

Tess spins her sais around until the three points were between her fingers. "Fire Fist!" Fire encompasses Tess' fists once more as she charges at Geneaux. She jumps and slams both fists into Geneaux's now soft body, letting her sais sink into its skin. Geneaux completely catches on fire now and shrieks in horrible pain.

Tidus rushes forward, doing several flips and cartwheels towards Geneaux before leaping high into the air. "Spiral Cut!" Tidus comes down, bringing his sword down right on Geneaux's head, slicing all the way through to the ground before jumping away.

Geneaux quiets down and dies from its numerous burns and cuts, pyreflies flying from its corpse. Tidus drops his sword and puts his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. "Yeesh!" Tidus exclaims tiredly.

Tess walks up to Tidus after putting her sais away. "You did well, even finished it off." Tess says approvingly. "Definitely Guardian material."

Vaed walks up and pats Tidus' shoulder encouragingly. "Like I said, nothing a little training can't fix. But, it's a big responsibility, being a Guardian. Don't make the decision lightly."

Wakka, also looking impressed, smiles. "After the tournament in Luca, ya?" Wakka says before walking up beside Tidus. "I was hoping to break you in a little slower, but you did do well. You got talent."

Tidus, feeling encouraged by the praise, stands straight. "So, what are these Sinspawn anyway?"

"Fiends." Lulu says looking over the still burning remains of Geneaux. "They fall from Sin's body, and are left behind in its wake."

Ezriel walks up beside Lulu and smiles brightly. "And if you just leave them alone, Sin'll come back for them and then…" Ezriel starts pantomiming choking and dying." Ezriel looks back at the remains and laughs. "That ain't happening with this guy. Who wants their food well done? Give it a few minutes and it'll be just fine."

Ezriel turns to face the group, only to realize that they have gone on ahead, leaving him behind. "Hey! Not cool guys!" He yells and runs after them.

Wakka keeps glancing over at Tidus, trying to be natural. "So…they got fiends in Zanarkand, too?"

Tidus looks upward while he thinks. "Just a few. It's a big deal when one shows up though." Tidus suddenly stops and looks at Wakka strangely. "Hey! Since when have you believed me about Zanarkand, anyway?"

Wakka stops too and shrugs nonchalantly while his eyes were bright with hope. "I've been thinking. Maybe people Sin gets to don't die. Maybe he Sin carries 'em through time. Like a thousand years through time." Wakka speculates, trying to sound normal, but failing in his excitement. "And then, one day, maybe they just pop back, see?"

Lulu lets out a small mocking laugh. "Amazing. Simply amazing." She rounds on Wakka and gives him a cold stare. "You make up one theory after another, refusing to face the simple truth. Sin didn't take Chappu anywhere. Sin crushed him and left him on the Djose shore! Your brother won't just pop back."

Lulu turns away, sick of looking at Wakka at the moment. "Oh, and one more thing. No matter how much you want it, no one can take Chappu's place. No one can replace Sir Jecht, for that matter. And there's no replacement for Lord Braska, or Marcus, or my mother, either. It's pointless to think about, and sad." Lulu says coldly before walking quickly up the stairs.

Tess rushes up to Lulu, walking beside her. "That was a little much, don't you think?" Tess asks quietly, so they can't be overheard.

Lulu glares slightly at Tess. "It needed to be said." Lulu says coldly.

Tess shakes her head sadly. "About Chappu, but bringing dad and mom, and Tidus' dad into it was going a bit far. Talking about Lord Braska also was an insult to dad and Yuna." Tess looks back down at Wakka then looks ahead. "You should give him a break. He loved Chappu just as much as you. I don't care about your feelings for Wakka, whatever they are, but if you bring someone else into your little spat with him, you better be prepared for harsh words in return."

Lulu looked affronted by that. "How dare you think such things? I didn't mean anything you just said." Lulu says in outrage.

Tess' eyebrow twitches and she stops to face Lulu fully. "You're lying to yourself, Lulu. You think it's sad to try and replace someone who had left you. But it's only natural. Everyone needs someone to keep them going, even you. No matter how much you say you don't need anyone."

Tess looks at Lulu in pity. "you still hurt because Chappu was your someone. You hold onto that so much and hate everything that reminds you of that. It's time for you to let Chappu go too, sis. Because if you don't the next someone for you is gonna come and you're gonna miss it." Lulu remains silent as they continue to climb the stairs.

Wakka sits down on the steps, looking at the ground sadly, before scowling and punching the ground. "I…I could never be what Chappu was."

Ezriel sighs heavily in resignation before sitting down next to Wakka. "I hate to say it, but Lu's right. Chappu was a close friend of mine, too. When he died, I wished it wasn't true. But as time moved on, I accepted the truth. He's gone, Wakka. He isn't gonna come back. And hoping he will, will only lead to more heartache. It's a false hope, Wakka. Let the dead rest and move forward or you'll be left behind by the world." Ezriel says apologetically.

Spaz looks up at Lulu and sighs heavily before looking at Wakka in sympathy. "You shouldn't have to be Chappu. You should just be you." Spaz smiles a little then looks at Tidus. "You might look like Chappu, but if you start acting like him, I might have to sick Ez on you."

Ezriel laughs and shows his teeth to Tidus. "I take limbs when I bite."

Tidus holds up his hands, looking uncomfortable. "Whoa, man. I don't swing that way."

Wakka and Vaed start cracking up laughing while Tidus smirks victoriously. Ezriel rolls his eyes and starts walking up the stairs. Wakka, now feeling better, stands and stretches a little. "Well, stuff happens. Best not to worry." Wakka says before he and the others walk up the stairs.

The group reaches the top of the stairs finally making it to Kilika temple. A small group of people clad in the purple uniforms of the Luca Goers. At the sight of Wakka and Ezriel they smirk confidently and stride right up to them. Wakka greets them with a smile. "You here to pray for victory, too?"

The captain chuckles arrogantly, looking down at Wakka, despite him being a few inches shorter. "Us? Pray? We're going to win the cup this year, why should we pray?"

Ezriel stands beside Wakka, looking deep in thought before tapping Wakka on the shoulder. "Hey, Wakka, tell me, who won the cup five years running now?"

Wakka chuckles and points to himself and Ezriel. "The Besaid Aurochs, I believe."

Ezriel nods and slaps his forehead, feigning ignorance. "Wow, how silly of me to forget. But if I recall correctly, and please, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the Luca Goers say that for the past four years?"

Wakka smirks and looks at the Goers in malicious joy. "You know what, I think they did, ya?"

Ezriel sighs and shakes his head sadly. "So what you mean to say is…" Ezriel takes a step closer to get into the Goers' captain's face. "That the Luca Goers are nothing but talk and no action."

The captain glares at Ezriel in loathing. "We'll see you in the finals." He says dangerously before knocking his shoulder into Ezriel and walking past.

Ezriel, usually the one to get the last word, turns to them as they descend the stairs. "I hope not, gets kinda repetitive to whoop your asses every time."

Yuna watches the Goers leave then turns to Wakka and Ezriel, looking disappointed. "You shouldn't goad them like that."

Ezriel shrugs, not caring. "They started it. We finished it, like always." Ezriel says before walking towards the temple with Wakka and the others following him.

The inside of the temple looks exactly like the one in Besaid, except it was lit to show more of the concept of fire. Wakka, Ezriel, and Tidus kneel down in front of a well maintained statue of a High Summoner while the others stand back and watch. "Lord Ohalland, guide our feet." Wakka says as Ezriel and Tidus follow his example to do the prayer gesture to the statue.

As they finish praying, the door leading to the Cloister of Trials opens and a young, tanned woman along with a tall and muscular man walk out. The woman looks down from the top of the stairs to Yuna. "A Summoner, are you?"

As everyone turns to look at her, Ezriel scoffs and points to himself. "No, I'm the Summoner." Ezriel says sarcastically and hooks his thumb to point at Yuna. "She's my staff holder."

Yuna giggles in amusement before looking to the woman and the man as they walk down the stairs and approach them. "My name is Yuna Kaname, from the Isle of Besaid." Yuna says politely and with a respectful bow.

The woman gives Yuna a once over and sneers at her. "Dona." Dona says being snarky. "So you're High Summoner Braska's daughter. That's quite a name to live up to." Dona says while looking at the group. "My, my, my…and all these people…" Dona says in distaste. "Are your Guardians? What a rabble."

Donna turns to look at Braska's statue. "As I recall, Lord Braska had only three Guardians." Dona looks back to the group, looking high and mighty. "Quality over quantity, my dear. Whatever were you thinking?" Dona places her hand on the muscular guy's shoulder. "I have need of only one Guardian. Right, Barthello?" Barthello, who looked like a pile of rocks had more brains than him, nods in confirmation.

Tess steps up between Dona and Yuna. "She's not the only Summoner in our group. I'm Tess Amari, also from the Isle of Besaid." Tess, imitating Dona, gives her and Barthello a quick once over. "You don't look all to impressive to me. Tell me, were the Aeons being generous when they made you a Summoner."

Dona looks at Tess in complete and utter loathing before Yuna steps between them, mainly looking at Dona. "We only have as many Guardians as there are people we can trust. I trust them all with my life. To have so many Guardians is a joy, and an honor. Even more so than being my father's daughter."

Yuna smiles pleasantly at Dona. "Of course, I would never think of questioning your ways either."

Tess snorts, still glaring at Dona. "I would if they were as stupid as that dress she's wearing." Tess says coldly, getting a dangerous look from Dona.

Yuna gives Tess a quick, dissatisfied look before turning her attention back to Dona. "So, Lady Dona, I ask of you. Please, leave us in peace."

Dona scoffs at Yuna's attempt to be friendly. "You do what you want. Barthello, we're leaving. You have a competition to train for." Dona says turning to leave.

Tess barks out a loud mocking laugh. "That big oaf? He wouldn't make it past the first rounds!"

Dona turns to Ezriel and sneers at him. "We shall see." She says threateningly before Barthello and her exit the temple.

Together the group climbs the steps leading to the Cloister of Trails and enters through the door. They walk down a small hallway before stopping on an elevator that would lower them. "The Fayth's below. Let's do it!" Wakka says with enthusiasm.

Yuna does the prayer gesture, praying for success. "Strength, everyone."

Everyone steps onto the elevator, but Ezriel kicks him lightly off the elevator. Tidus turns to them, looking angered. "Hey, what gives?" Tidus exclaims in indignation.

Vaed sighs tiredly before giving Tidus a less than patient look. "You're not a Guardian. You stay here since you can't come any farther with us."

Tess looks at Tidus apologetically. "We'll be back as soon as we can, okay?" Tess promises before the elevator starts to descend.

As it does, they all could hear Tidus grumble to himself. "Oh sure! Soon like "tomorrow" soon, I bet!" Tidus exclaims in annoyance, getting a laugh from most of the group.

* * *

Evan and Shisa walk through the old mine. The flames on Shisa keeping the cave well lit, despite lack of lighting inside the cave. Shisa stops at the far end of the cave where there was a pile of stones and dirt with scorch marks all around it and a whole in the ceiling, leading outside. Evan bends down by it, looking at it. "This is it?"

Shisa growls in anger and shame at the pile. "Spirits cannot move anything with no life. My shrine buried in this stone has been a disgrace to my honor."

Evan nods and starts clearing off the rubble. "It was a sinkhole that formed under it. The miners probably didn't even know your shrine was above them. They just made this tunnel, the sinkhole starts to bring down everything on it and bam, right into the mine."

Shisa glares at Evan indignantly. "You dare lecture me, mortal?" Shisa asks dangerously.

Evan shakes his head as he continues clearing away the pile. "Wasn't really saying that for you. I usually talk out loud when I'm thinking about something like this." Evan clarifies as he pulls out two halves to a small statue.

The statue showed a dignified and intelligent lion. It was made of stone, except for the eyes, which were rubies. Or so Evan thought since he only saw one ruby in one of the eyes. After digging around some more, Evan finds a pedestal for the statue and finally the ruby.

Evan examines the pieces before looking up at Shisa. "I can have this fixed for you in no time." Evan puts the pieces onto the ground before grabbing a stone and walking to a flat and clear surface. Evan quickly draws a circle with the stone and starts drawing symbols into the circle.

Once it was done, Evan stands up and examines it before grabbing the pieces of the statue and placing them inside the circle. Once inside, Evan kneels down beside the circle, focusing on the circle. After several moments of nothing, Evan places his hands lightly onto the circle. The circle starts to glow bright blue as the statue starts fusing the pieces back together.

The light dies and Evan picks up the completed statue, presenting it to Shisa. "How is this?" Evan says proudly.

Shisa examines the statue closely all over before, what Evan took as a pleased smile, spreads on his face. "It is as it was before."

Evan smiles brightly before tucking the statue into his big coat pocket and picking up the pedestal. "Alright, instead of up where it was, how about we put this at the entrance of the mine? That way, every time someone comes into the mine, they will see you and praise you."

Shisa thinks for a moment and nods. "I find that adequate." Shisa says before leading Evan back towards the entrance to the mine.

Once outside, Evan places the pedestal to the side of the entrance, where it could be easily seen, before placing the statue onto the pedestal. "There, what do you think?" Evan asks looking back at Shisa.

The once angry and feral looking lion was now a life-size lookalike of the statue. His fur has turned tan, and the fire on his feet and tails were burning calmly. "Thank you, Evan Umera. You have done me a great service." Shisa says, now sounding like a wise and pleasant being, and bows deeply to Evan.

Evan, caught off guard by the sudden change in attitude, gawks at Shisa awkwardly for a moment before bowing low himself. "It was an honor to be able to help." Evan and Shisa straighten and smile at each other. "So does the village have permission to use the mine again?"

Shisa nods and turns to walk away. "You and the islanders may use the mine. And I also have a parting gift as well." Shisa says before walking off into the trees and disappearing.

Where Shisa just disappeared, seven people who are dazed and disoriented come walking out of the woods, looking lost. "What the hell? Where's that giant fiend?" One of the people ask looking around wildly.

Evan laughs quietly before smiling. "That's a weird story. But listen up, this is how it's going to go from now on." Evan says before delving into the story of Shisa, the Lord of Kilika and the woods.

* * *

The group wait outside the Chamber of Fayth for Tess and Yuna to finish praying. Wakka looks around at everybody before asking quietly. "So what are your opinions of Tidus joining as a Guardian? I don't know if he should."

Ezriel sighs heavily in resignation. "Dude, it's not our decision to make. That's between Tess and Tidus."

Vaed nods in agreement before speaking up. "If he does become a Guardian, we'll need to train him. He was exhausted after fighting that Sinspawn." Vaed says before yawning, since he was tired as well.

Lulu looks at Vaed curiously. "If those arrows take that much out of you, I think you might need a new weapon."

Vaed shakes his head before yawning. "The Shooting Star attack just drains me, and I used it twice today. Though I admit I'm more tired than I'd like to be, I'm actually getting used to the weapon."

Lulu shrugs and looks towards the door to the Chamber of Fayth. "If you say so. But, concerning Tidus, I think he should join us." Everyone gawks at Lulu for saying that, with the exception of Kimahri. "With his memory the way it is, being by himself would be a danger to him." Lulu clarifies, turning away from their stares.

Wakka looks at Kimahri, who stood near the door to the Chamber of Fayth, watching it closely. "What do you think, Kimahri?"

Kimahri just nods without turning around. Wakka takes that as agreeing with the others. Wakka leans against the wall, thinking quietly as they all waited

After several minutes of silence, the door leading to the Cloister opens and Tidus comes strolling in. Wakka walks up to him, shocked that Tidus would do this again. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Wakka exclaims in complete shock before pinching the bridge of his nose to try to stop the headache that was coming.

Ezriel and Lulu walk up to Tidus, both looking furious while Vaed and Kimahri look on from the other side of the room. "What the hell are you doing here, Newbie?" Ezriel asks quietly and dangerously.

Tidus nervously scratches the back of his head. "It was Dona and that big muscle headed man! They threw me onto the elevator coming down here." Tidus explains, not really expecting the anger he was receiving.

Ezriel stares at him, dead silent for several moments. "Did they throw you through the Cloister, too? You couldn't, I dunno, just go back up the elevator?" Ezriel knocks Tidus light on the side of the head. "Think before you act, idiot!"

Tidus growls in annoyance. "And risk getting beat up by that muscle head? No thanks."

Lulu gives Tidus a very cold glare. "Yuna and Tess are the ones who have to pay the consequences of your actions!" Lulu says heatedly.

Tidus looked really scared and nervous now. "What consequences?" Tidus asks, his voice quiet.

"They could be excommunicated!" Wakka exclaims in exasperation

Vaed walks over to them and gets between Tidus and the others. "Calm down, guys. Tidus didn't think, true. He was forced down into the Cloister, also true. Neither Tess or Yuna know nothing of this and had no way to stop the occurrence, this is also true. It takes a lot more than that to get a Summoner in trouble. Let's just wait for them to finish, then we can explain to the priests what happened." Vaed explains calmly.

They think about that for a moment before deciding to go with Vaed's suggestion. They all go back to where they were before, except Tidus joins Wakka and Ezriel. After several minutes in silence, Wakka notices that Tidus was bored and snorts in amusement. "Just wait."

Tidus looks at the door leading into the Chamber of Fayth. "So, what's in there anyway?" Tidus asks curiously.

Wakka looks at the door then back to Tidus. "The Fayth, remember?"  
Tidus nods, recognizing the name. "Oh yeah, that thing. Right." Tidus says trying to sound knowledgeable but failing.

Lulu looks at Tidus, sighing in pity. "The Fayth are people who gave their lives to battle Sin. Yevon took their souls, willingly given from their still living bodies." Lulu explains solemnly.

Ezriel crosses his arms over his chest. "You saw those pyreflies before, right? Those are the souls of people. A Fayth willingly gets their soul removed and puts it into a statue." Ezriel explains, trying to simplify it.

Lulu nods her thanks to Ezriel before looking back to Tidus. "They live forever, but are trapped in the statues. But when a Summoner beckons, the souls of the Fayth emerge once again. That's what we call an Aeon."

Tidus' eyes widen in astonishment at this new piece of information. "All that is in this room?" Tidus remains silent, his eyes glued to the door. "So what're Yuna and Tess doing in there?"

Wakka smiles proudly while looking at the door. "They pray with all their heart for a way to defeat Sin." Wakka says confidently.

Vaed looks at Tidus and smirks confidently. "If there is anyone who was born ready to fight Sin, it'd be Yuna and Tess."

The door to the Chamber of Fayth opens and Yuna staggers out with the help of Tess, both looking exhausted. Upon the sight of seeing Tidus, Tess smirks and walks over to him after handing Yuna over to Kimahri. "What're you doing in here?"

Tidus smiles nervously. "I was kinda forced in here. I'm sorry if I get you in trouble."

Tess looks at Tidus blankly for a moment. "What are you talking about? You're my Guardian."

Ezriel raises an eyebrow in confusion. "Since when?"

Tess looks at Ezriel like he was crazy. "You were there when I asked him."

Vaed nods, but looks uncomfortable. "Yes, but we agreed that he should wait until after we get to Luca."

Tess thinks for a moment before shrugging. "I don't remember that and neither will the temple."

Vaed squirms uneasily. "That's just a lie, Tess."

Tess laughs and pats Vaed's shoulder."About time you caught on to what I was doing." Tess says merrily before walking back into the Cloister with the others following her.

Once outside, pretty much everyone around starts flocking over to Yuna and Tess, congratulating them for gaining the Aeon. Once the crowd disperses, the group start to walk down the stairs. Tidus stops, making Tess stop behind him. "What's wrong?"

Tidus shrugs indifferently and sighs. "I don't know." Tidus says tiredly.

Tess walks down to stand in front of him. "Come on, what's wrong?"

Tidus looks off to the side, looking miserable. "I…I thought I had put my feelings for Zanarkand behind me. But they're still there, and they're growing inside me, bigger and bigger, till I feel like I'm about ready to burst."

Tess smiles sympathetically. "Then let it burst! There's no reason to hold it in."

Tidus chuckles and lets out a loud scream, feeling better instantly. Everyone stops and looks at him, wondering if something was wrong. Tidus watches them and laughs nervously. "Just felt like screaming."

Ezriel rolls his eyes and shakes his head in a suffering way. "You are a moron." Ezriel says before he walks continues down the stairs, the group following him.

The group makes their way back through the jungle and near the village, having an incredibly easier time with it since there were no more fiends in the jungle. "What the heck is goin' on?" Wakka asks suspiciously.

Tess was looking around for fiends as well, but the forest was quiet except for its normal wildlife. "What could have happened?"

Lulu actually looks a little more upbeat about the situation. "I don't know, but I think we should consider ourselves lucky." Lulu says gratefully before spotting Evan with a small group of villagers, all carrying small bins filled with rocks, heading back to the village. "Evan!" Lulu calls to him.

Evan sees the group and has his group continued on path without him before walking up to his friends. "Hey, how'd it go up at the temple."

Vaed lets out a loud yawn, trying to cover it with his mouth. "Nothing all that interesting. Fought the Lord of the Wood, various fiends, and a Sinspawn. And both Yuna and Tess managed to get the Aeon."

Yuna giggles at the bored tone that Vaed used then looks over Evan who was dirty. "I guess everything went well at the mine, since you got help and the metal you were looking for."

Evan smirks and hooks his thumb over his shoulder, pointing where he just came from. "You guys should come with me, I want you to meet someone. I'll explain what happened on the way." Evan says before turning and walking off, the group following him.

After several minutes, Evan tells them everything that happened since he made it to the mine, finishing just as they make it to the entrance to the mine. Evan stops and faces the statue of the Shisa. "This is Shisa, the true Lord of Kilika and its jungle." Evan puts his hands together and bows to the statue respectfully. "He's going to protect Kilika from now on from any threat, and allowed us to get into the mine."

Tidus observes the statue in awe. "This is a spirit shrine? That explains why we didn't see any more fiends on the way back." Tidus follows Evan's example, praying to the statue, and soon everyone does the same.

Once everyone was done praying to the shrine, Wakka claps his hands in excitement. "Alright! Back to the boat and off to Luca at last!" Wakka claps his hands on both Tidus' and Ezriel's shoulders. "The matches start soon as we get there, so rest up on the way, ya?"

The group make it back to Kilika, say their goodbyes to the villagers, and get onto the S.S. Winno. The boat departs from Kilika heading straight for Luca.

* * *

Sorry I didn't have the chapter up last Monday like I promised, but I've been having a hectic couple of weeks.

To make up for it, I've went back and re-edited the previous chapters.

Also as a bonus, I've uploaded two chapters.

I hope you all enjoy. Let me know and review, please.

-Legendsofwoe


	8. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: What We've Lost**

The S.S. Winno smoothly sails over the waters, heading for Luca. The night sky was clear, letting the beautiful stars shine down on the boat. Yuna and Tess stand near the back of the boat talking to some of the Luca Goers, with Kimahri watching over them as they watch Evan going through a martial arts sequence for training. Wakka, Lulu, and Vaed stand around on the upper deck, talking amongst themselves while Ezriel and the Aurochs are training in the front of the boat.

Tidus walks up from below deck and, without getting too close to the punching and kicking Evan, walks up to the Goers and his friends at the back of the ship. "What are you all talking about?"

The captain of the Goers looks at Tidus like he was scum. "Who are you supposed to be?" He asks sourly.

"Ah, I remember him. Guy from Kilika." One of the captain's teammates says in recognition, but only getting a lost look from the captain. "You know, one of the Besaid Aurochs'. He was with those punks Ezriel and Wakka." He clarifies, giving Tidus a sneer.

The captain finally recognizes Tidus. "Oh, right, him." The captain says distastefully. "Don't think you'll make any difference. This year the Goers are going to take the championship." The captain says trying to be intimidating.

Tidus snorts in amusement, not affected by the captain's weak attempt to scare him. "Well, with me here we'll definitely be taking home the cup." Tidus says confidently.

Tess smiles at Tidus. "Oh yeah, they will win. With two star players on the team, it'll be all too easy."

The captain gives Tess a glance of annoyance before turning back to Tidus. "Star player, huh? To be a star player you have to be on a team. I've never seen you before. So what team were you on?"

Tess steps up beside Tidus, knocking on his chest with the back of her hand. "The Zanarkand Abes, if you must know, Bickson."

One of Bickson's teammates scoffs mockingly. "Yeah, as if anyone lived in those ruins."

Tess glares at the Goers. "There's a big city there, not just some ruins." Tess narrows her eyes in anger. "Or are you calling me a liar?" Tess says threateningly.

Bickson laughs mockingly. "No, I'm calling you an idiot." He looks at Tidus with an arrogant smirk. "So is he for trying to spread such lies."

Yuna walks up to stand in front of Tidus and Tess. "Don't call them that."

Everyone stares at the three of them in pity. "Is there a problem?" Evan says in a bored tone stepping up beside Yuna, looking bored.

Though Evan looked bored, his eyes gave them the vibe that promised violence if they answered incorrectly. "No, we don't have a problem." Bickson says, gulping slightly.

Evan nods understandingly before pointing away from them. "Good, now get lost." Suddenly the Goers hasten to get out of there without realizing it.

Tess watches them go before glaring at Evan. "I was handling it." She says, very annoyed.

Evan shrugs and stretches a little. "Yeah, and if you continued to handle it you would have had several beaten up Blitzball players unconscious on the deck." Evan says matter-of-factly.

Tess raises an eyebrow like there was nothing wrong with that. "And it would have been handled." Tess says sounding put off.

Evan sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, not believing the audacity of Tess. "And how'd that look to the Blitzball officials when they saw that a Summoner from Besaid beat up an opposing team before the tournament?" Evan says giving Tess a don't-be-stupid look.

Tess continues to glare at Evan then sighs in defeat. "Fine, you might have a point." Tess admits grudgingly.

"You still didn't have to be mean to them." Yuna says disapprovingly to Evan.

Evan looks at Yuna in mock confusion. "Me? Be mean? Whatever do you mean? I was not hostile to them in the slightest." Evan says with a great big smirk.

Yuna continues to stare at Evan disapprovingly. "I'll never understand how you can come across as threatening."

Tess laughs and punches Evan's shoulder lightly. "That's 'cause you actually know him. I mean that face alone is enough to scare anyone away." Tess says jokingly.

"HAHAHA!" Evan says loudly and mockingly while rolling his eyes. "That was so funny. I'm going back to training now." Evan turns then turns back to them, giving Tess an expectant glare. "Shouldn't you be training, too? You're entering the martial arts competition, right?"

Tess waves her hand dismissively. "I've been fighting with my fists most of the time, I count that as training."

Evan sighs explosively before walking away. "Okay, have fun with losing then."

Tess' eye twitches in annoyance. "Says the person who keeps losing to me every time we spar."

Evan ignores her and goes back to his training. Yuna watches him leave then looks at Tess sadly. "You don't have to be so rough on him, you know."

Tess shrugs indifferently. "He can handle it." Tess says simply before giving Yuna a curious glance. "I'm surprised you aren't tougher on him."

Yuna looks away for a moment before answering shyly. "I forgave him a long time ago." Yuna says before walking away with Kimahri.

Tidus back and forth from Tess and Yuna, looking slightly confused. "What did you mean by that?"

Tess rolls her eyes before turning to Tidus. "When Evan left the island, it shook Yuna really bad. She wasn't normal for months after he left. It took a long time to get her spirits back up. If it was me, I probably would have never forgiven Evan, but that's just me. Yuna is made of different stuff."

Tidus laughs nervously. "Remind me to never get on your bad side."

Tess smirks playfully at Tidus. "Oh I doubt you will. So far, you're really fun to have around." Tess says before laughing slightly. "Don't worry, everyone says I'm a joy to be around, even though I'm a major pain in the ass." Tess crosses her arms, looking thoughtful. "I might give Evan a hard time, but like I said, he's my idiot brother, and I love him. He might have been a little rough with his training, but hey, I survived and got strong as well."

Tidus remembers her handling Evan's zanbato and nods in agreement. "Yeah, when I tried holding that big sword of his, I thought my arms were going to be ripped off. But you handled it like it was nothing. You're definitely something else."

Tess smiles brightly, her eyes twinkling. "Why, don't go all romantic on me now." Tess says teasingly. "Evan and Lulu might have some words to say about it."

Tidus smiles brightly as well. "And if they tried to hurt me, I'm sure you'd stop them."

Tess laughs loudly and gives Tidus a soft punch to his arm. "Well, didn't take you long to figure that out." Tess says teasingly before she yawns heavily, looking suddenly exhausted. "I think I'm going to get some sleep." She gives Tidus a small smile as she walks towards the cabins. "Goodnight."

Tidus waves to her before walking towards the front of the boat. As he passes the stairs he hears the muted conversation between Lulu, Wakka, and Vaed. "Well? Say something." Lulu demanded impatiently. "You'll take responsibility?"

Wakka lets out a loud sigh of annoyance. "Relax. He's bound to know someone in Luca." Wakka says positively.

Vaed snorts in amusement. "Unless what he says is true, then there's no one but us who know of him." Vaed points out casually.

"How sure are you of that?" Lulu asks seriously.

Vaed is silent for several moments. "I'm certain that he truly believes his story. To him, he really is from Zanarkand, he really does belong to the Zanarkand Abes" Vaed is silent again for another moment before continuing. "But from what I remember of Sir Jecht, he was also from Zanarkand and played for the Zanarkand Abes as well. So as much as I don't think it could be possible, the fact that they both have the same story is more than enough to make me think it might be possible."

"All the more reason you should take responsibility, Wakka." Lulu says, daring Wakka to weasel his way out of this.

Wakka tried anyway. "He could always join a Blitz team." Wakka offers before hurriedly adding. "Anyhow, it's better than just leaving him in Besaid."

Lulu scoffs at Wakka's ignorance. "What? Leaving him in Luca?"

"What do you want me to do?" Wakka asks getting agitated by the constant grilling Lulu was giving him.

"Tess wants to make him a Guardian." Vaed points out helpfully.

Wakka groans aloud. "Oh yeah, geez…There's that too, eh?"

"And whose fault is that?" Lulu chides accusingly.

"Not mine!" Wakka exclaims before a long moment of silence. "It is mine, huh?" Wakka admits, sounding defeated. "Why do you think she wants to make him a Guardian, anyway?" Wakka asks sounding genuinely puzzled.

"Because he's Sir Jecht's son." Lulu points out.

"Oh, right." Wakka says lamely before what Lulu said sinks in. "Wait, you sure about that?"

"He said as much, and I wasn't picking up any lies from him. Tess believes him, too." Vaed says thoughtfully.

"Okay." Wakka says simply, taking Vaed's word for it.

"'Okay'? 'Okay'? That's all you have to say?" Lulu says, her temper flaring again.

"Well, yeah, I mean…He's gotta decide for himself, ya? Well, him and Tess, I guess." Wakka says, flustered by Lulu's temper.

After a calming moment, Lulu speaks again. "I wonder which is best." Lulu thinks aloud. "Why don't you tell him he should?"

"Should what?" Wakka asks, sounding lost and confused.

"Become Tess' Guardian. Please pay attention, Wakka." Vaed says with an amused chuckle.

Wakka groans quietly. "Why me?"

"Tidus hates Sir Jecht, Wakka. Do you really think that Tess can ask him to be what his father was?" Vaed asks, sounding sympathetic.

Wakka remains silent for a few moments, apparently thinking. "Aren't you being a little over sensitive? I mean, come on, this is Tess we're talking about. She asked to dye Kimahri's fur before, remember?"

Vaed sighs heavily. "Did you notice when she asked him to be a Guardian in Kilika?"

Wakka is silent for several moments. "Yeah, now that you mention it, that was a bit odd, for her."

"That's because she knew how Tidus felt about his father. She had already told him that Sir Jecht was Lord Braska's Guardian and Sir Marcus' friend. She didn't want to upset him." Vaed says solemnly. "It took a lot to ask. It'd be easier on her and on Tidus if you asked him."

"Alright, alright. I'll try talking to him after the tournament." Wakka promises.

Tidus stands there, thinking about what they said before walking off to be alone.

Vaed lets a knowing smile creep up on him. "He's definitely thinking about it." Vaed says as he nods over the side of the deck.

Wakka and Lulu look to see Tidus with a thoughtful frown as he walks to the front of the boat, where it was currently deserted, except for a single blitzball. Lulu looks at Vaed in suspicion. "He was eavesdropping on us, and you knew about it. Why didn't you invite him up, we could have talked with him about it."

Vaed shakes his head sadly. "We wouldn't have lied to him, but we learn more of what people think of us when our back is turned than what they tell you face to face. Besides, it's only right he knows what he's getting himself into."

They all remain silent for several minutes, watching Tidus in his deep thought. "He doesn't like his father?" Wakka asks curiously and suddenly.

Vaed nods sadly, turning to look at the deck, deep in thought himself. "When he spoke of Sir Jecht, he only did so with contempt."

Wakka sighs with deep sadness and longing. "Hating your own father, huh? Sounds like a luxury to me. I don't even remember my parents. Can't say how I feel about them."

Vaed crosses his arms and leans his back against the railing. "I never knew my mother, and my father never speaks of her. So I guess she died when I was really young." Vaed shrugs and sighs heavily. "But at least I still have a parent. Ezriel doesn't even remember anything about his parents."

Wakka nods knowingly. "Ez was always a little odd, but I still think it was a blessing that he was with us. Though, being the only person in the village to mysteriously appear on the island got to be rough, ya?"

"He wasn't the first to just appear on the island." Lulu says suddenly getting weird looks from Vaed and Wakka. "Evan was the first to be found on the island." Lulu clarifies to them.

Vaed looks down at Evan who was still going through his training. "I didn't know that. I just thought that Sir Marcus brought him with him when he came to the island."

Lulu looks away, sadly. "Marcus found him on the island as a baby. He came to the village and adopted him. Then he met my mother and became my step-father. My father died before I was born. My mother…died when I was five."

Vaed looks at Lulu curiously. "Please, stop me if I'm overstepping my bounds here, but what happened to your mother? Evan and Tess would say anything to anyone of her."

Lulu looks at Vaed while wearing an expressionless mask for a minute. "It was before you were born, so I'm not surprised that you don't know much about it. Marcus and Evan were doing some night fishing while my mother was watching me and Tess." Lulu turns away and looks out to sea. "It just came out of nowhere. It jumped down into the village and started to ravage everything and everyone in its path. My mother put Tess in my arms and told me to run while she tried to help some of the elderly." A stray tear falls down Lulu's cheek and her head lowers. "They were all crushed by it."

Vaed looks curiously at Lulu. "What was it?"

"It was a very giant ape fiend." Wakka answers, taking over so Lulu didn't have to keep talking. "Marcus came back before it did too much damage and lead it away from the village. The next morning, Marcus came walking back into town, telling us to stay indoors during the full moon from now on. But the fiend never attacked the island again."

Lulu looks up suddenly, a stray thought coming to mind. "That's when Evan's tail got cut off."

Vaed and Wakka look at Lulu like she went crazy. "What tail?" Wakka asks suddenly.

Lulu's eyes widen in shock for a moment before she put on her neutral mask again. "Sorry, I'm tired, never mind me. I'm going to bed." Lulu says before rushing off down the stairs.

"Okay…that was weird." Vaed says shaking his head in confusion.

Wakka chuckles softly. "I hear that, brudda."

Lulu quickly walks down the stairs from the upper deck, her hand covering her mouth. "You've done so well to keep that a secret, why blow it now?" She scolds herself harshly. As she reaches the back deck she sees Evan and walks up to him. "Evan, I'm sorry."

Evan stops his sequence with a jump of fright. "Geez!" He exclaims, taking several moments to regain his composure. "Don't sneak up on me like that. What are you sorry for?"

Lulu looks around before leaning closer to him. "I accidently let it slip, I mentioned your tail to Wakka and Vaed."

Evan's eyes widen and he looks up at the upper deck, not seeing either Wakka or Vaed. Then he closes his eyes and takes a deep, calming breath. "It's alright. They'll know about it sooner or later." Evan says with a forced calm.

Lulu shakes her head, still belittling herself for the slip up. "No, that's one of the things that Marcus made us promise never to talk about. I understand if you're mad at me."

Evan smiles sadly at Lulu. "I'm not mad, Lu. Before you guys leave Luca everybody was going to know that I'm not exactly 'normal'." Evan explains brightly before thinking about it. "You usually don't slip, what were you talking about?"

Lulu looks away sadly. "We…were talking about the night that my mother died." Lulu says through a lump in her throat.

Evan suddenly stiffens, looking miserable. "I'm…I'm so sorry, Lu." Evan says looking away from her in shame.

Concern and confusion crept up in her from Evan's reaction to that. "It wasn't your fault." Lulu says while patting Evan's head. "Don't get too worked up about it, alright?" Evan keeps looking away, his posture still stiff with some unknown fear and shame. "Look, I'm heading to bed. Don't be out too late. You've got a big day ahead of you, too."

Evan forces himself to calm down and puts on his normal smile for Lulu. "Yeah, thanks, Lu. I'll see you in the morning."

Lulu pats his head again, hoping he was okay. Every time she brought up her mother Evan also got sad, but this was the first time that she'd gotten that kind of reaction out of him. "Goodnight." Lulu says before walking down into the cabins.

Evan watches her go before walking to the back of the boat and staring out at the ocean miserably. Two sets of footsteps approach Evan. "What's up, Yuna?" Evan says without turning around.

The footsteps stop. "How'd you know it was me?" Yuna asks, clearly amazed.

Evan cracks a smile and turns around to see Yuna and Kimahri. "It wasn't all that great." Evan says pointing to his ears. "I heard two sets of footsteps, one was walking lightly while the other was a lot heavier. Kimahri never leaves you alone, so I figured it was you two." Evan explains simply before leaning back on the railing. "So what's up?"

Yuna frowns in thought. "You looked down, so I wanted to see what's wrong." Yuna says seeing through Evan's false smile.

Evan's eye twitches but he drops the smile. "Me and Lulu were talking about her mother." Evan says turning back to look out at the ocean. "I was just thinking about her."

Yuna walks up to stand beside him, looking concerned. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Evan lets out a humorless chuckle and shakes his head. "No use talking about it. She died, it wasn't fair, but it happened anyway. Hell, I barely remember her, but she was the closest thing to a mother I've ever had."

Yuna nods in understanding and leans on the railing with Evan. "I'm sorry I never met her."

Evan smiles at Yuna. "I'm sure she would have loved you." A thought forms in Evan's head and he looks slightly nervous. "Hey…um…I was wondering, if you'd like to spend some time with me…after the Blitz tournament…just the two of us." Evan says wanting to look away, but forcing himself to look at Yuna.

Yuna blushes slightly, looking completely caught off guard over the question. But she smiles at Evan's nervousness and shyness. "I would like that." She says happily.

Evan looks somewhat surprised, but smiles from ear to ear. "Great!" Evan says loudly before turning to Kimahri. "Mind if I take Yuna around Luca? I promise I'll take good care of her."

Kimahri watches Evan silently for a moment before nodding. "Kimahri trust Evan with Yuna."

Evan practically jumps up with a whoop. "Thank, Kimahri." Evan looks at Yuna with the same happy smile. "Until tomorrow, good night. I think I'm going to hit the sack." Evan says waving to Yuna and Kimahri before walking down to the cabins, excited for their stay in Luca.

* * *

Thank you all for reading.

Please Read and Review!


	9. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: Summoners Taken**

The S.S. Winno approaches Luca quickly in the mid-morning. The city's biggest eye catcher was the stadium attached to the docks, which were being set up for the big Blitzball tournament. The town was crawling with many people and attractions as the festival goes into full swing.

Tidus stands at the very front of the boat, holding onto a rope and looking on Luca with awe. "Wow." He mutters to himself.

"You might want to come back where it's safe. We don't want you falling overboard again." Tess says as she leans on the railing smiling teasingly at Tidus.

Tidus carefully comes back over the railing and stands beside Tess while looking at Luca. "I didn't think cities in Spira got so big."

Tess smirks and watches Luca with Tidus, also looking on in awe. "Luca is the second biggest city in Spira, only topped by Bevelle." Tess explains as they near the docks.

"Did all these people come to watch the Blitzball tournament?" Tidus gives the stadium an appraising look. "Didn't think the stadium could hold so many people."

Tess laughs and shakes her head, temporarily forgetting that Tidus wasn't of Spira. "It's the Maesters Festival. People from all over Spira come to honor the Maesters, to watch the Blitzball tournament, and the martial arts competition."

Tidus whistles appreciatively. "I actually forgot about the martial arts competition." Tidus turns his back on Luca to give Tess a questioning glance. "What happens if Sin comes?"

Tess frowns slightly for a brief moment before smiling at Tidus. "The Luca Crusaders fight to protect Luca. They've done a good job at it, too." Tess looks back to Luca. "Apparently the current martial arts champion is part of the Crusaders. They say he's the one that keeps Luca safe from fiends and Sin."

Tidus' eyes widen in shock before looking over his shoulder at Luca. "One guy can make that much difference?"

Tess shrugs indifferently. "Whether he does or not really isn't important. Luca is one of the safest places in Spira. That's why the stadium is here and also why they hold the tournaments here."

As the S.S. Winno starts pulling into the dock, they can hear someone talking through the speakers placed all over the dock. "Ladies and gentlemen, the day we've all be waiting for! The opening tournament of the season! This event is sponsored by Yevon! And this year we celebrate Maester Mika's fiftieth year in office! I'm Bobba with my co-host Jimma to announce all the happenings here in Luca during the Maesters festival."

The ship pulls into the dock smoothly and drops its boarding ramp. "Ah! Over there on dock two! Another ship carrying Blitzball players has just arrived!"

* * *

Two men walk through the crowded street of Luca, heading towards the café, both six feet tall. One wears a deep red hapi with blue lining kept closed with a thick black and blue strap with two brown belts wrapped around it. His left arm is tucked into the front of his hapi, making it look as though his arm is in a sling. He wears a brown shoulder pad on his left shoulder intricately decorated with tan, green and blue patterns with a beaded ornament dangling from it. He wears black pants and shoes that have brown straps and triangular metal plating. He also wears a black shirt with a gray collar with intersecting brown straps high enough to cover his mouth. His long hair is dark black with gray streaks and is held back by a gold ribbon, and he has some stubble on his chin.

The other man is older, noticeable through his salt-and-pepper blonde hair and wrinkles, but he was tall and slim but well muscled. He wears a teal long trench coat with the word "Master" written in black Spiran script on his back over a dark grey, short sleeve shirt. He wears black martial arts pants that tuck into his black combat boots, held up by a black leather belt.

"All the way from Kilika, it's the Kilika Beast! Larbeight! Isken! Vuroja! Kulukan! Deim! And Nizarut! High Summoner Ohalland used to play for them. That's a big name to live up to. Their hometown was recently attacked by Sin. Isn't that right, Jimma?"

"Yes, Bobba. They're going to be pulling out all the stops to try and bring back the cup this year." Jimma says excitedly.

The two men enter the café and sit down, ordering drinks and listening to the broadcast. "Exciting, isn't it, folks?" Bobba says, just as excited. "Our next team off the ramp is our very own Luca Goers! Bickson! Abus! Graav! Doram! Balgerda! And Raudy! They've got power! They've got speed! They've got teamwork! They're an all-around first-class team! And they're back home in Luca! I only hope that they can bring the cup back to Luca!"

"And our next team is our current Blitzball champions, the Besaid Aurochs! Wakka! Ezriel! Datto! Letty! Botta! And Keepa! Though they aren't the favorite to win this year's tournament, you can't deny the skill that the Aurochs have been playing with since they first won three years ago!"

The first one looks to the second one questioningly. "Have they arrived?"

The second man pulls out a cigarette and lights it up before taking a long drag. "You would have felt it if you continued your training."

The first man gives the second a glare. "I've been busy keeping my promise to Jecht. Besides, there wasn't much sense to continue in Zanarkand."

The second man chuckles condescendingly at the first man. "Keep telling yourself that, Auron. You just grew lazy in your old age."

Auron narrows his eyes at the second man. "And you've just grown older, Marcus."

Marcus laughs loudly at that as their drinks arrive. They both clink their glasses together before taking a long drink. Marcus puts down his drink and sighs happily. "You really think that Jecht's boy will be here?"

Auron sets down his drink as well, looking at it thoughtfully. "I'm almost certain." Auron than gives Marcus an inquiring glance. "Should we go and meet them?"

Marcus snorts in amusement and shakes his head. "My family is with them, I think I want to hold off till after the Blitzball tournament. Give them a nice surprise."

Auron nods in understanding then goes back to staring at his drink. "So it begins again."

Marcus looks at Auron, curious what was going through his mind, but he just scoffs. "Doubt it'll be like last time. They'll have two former Guardians."

Auron laughs bitterly. "That won't really make a difference."

Marcus holds up a finger to contradict Auron. "But they'll also have two powerful martial artists with them."

Auron looks at Marcus curiously. "Two? What are you talking about?"

Marcus takes another drink and drag of his cigarette. "If you would have kept up with your training, you'd know." Marcus says vaguely before finishing his drink.

* * *

Several people who were in the crowd cheering the arrival of the blitzers start talking excitedly. "Maester Mika is here!"

"Already?"

"The number three dock!"

Tidus watches the exchange in confusion as the ones talking run off towards dock three. "What's up now?"

Yuna smiles eagerly at Tidus. "Maester Mika has arrived, that's what!" Yuna says giddily.

Tidus looked more confused for a moment before he remembered his talk with Vaed. "Oh yeah, I remember now, one of the leaders of Yevon, right?"

Tess gently punches Tidus' arm while smiling approvingly. "Yeah, he's come all the way from Bevelle for the Maesters Festival. The Blitzball tournament and the martial arts competition are held each year in the Maesters' honor. But this year is special since this is celebrating Maester Mika's fiftieth year as Maester."

Ezriel chuckles in amusement. "Personally, I think he should have retired by now. But you know about people with power."

Vaed smacks Ezriel hard on the back of the head. "Mind your mouth! You are a Temple Knight of Yevon! You will not show any disrespect towards him!" Vaed scolds angrily.

Ezriel rubs the back of his head, wincing a little. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." Ezriel grumbles quietly.

Yuna looks at everyone, her eyes bright with excitement. "Let's all go see him."

Evan snorts in amusement and crosses his arms. "Tell me how it goes. I've got better things to do."

Yuna looks at Evan in disappointment. "You're not coming?"

Evan shakes his head and points towards the city. "I thought I'd use the time to sign up for the competition, since a lot of people will be seeing the Maester's arrival." Evan smiles at Yuna reassuringly. "Don't worry, we'll meet up later to watch Blitzball together." Evan promises then looks at Tess. "You coming, too?"

Tess looks back and forth between Evan and the way towards where the Maesters will arrive. After a moment she lets out a resigned sigh. "Yeah, I'm coming." Tess says before giving Tidus a sad smile. "Have fun."

Evan and Tess walk off, heading into town and against the flow of the people rushing to see the Maesters arrival. The others join in with those people as they head to dock three. As they approach they see a large crowd of people being held back by Temple Knights with Bevelle's crest on their armor. They surround the ramp of a large ship with a group of musicians on either side of the ramp.

Tidus tries looking over the shoulders of the crowd. "I can't see anything." He says loudly and annoyed. Wakka shushes him as the musicians begin to play.

The first person to descend the ramp is a six-foot tall Guado-looking human who has blue eyes, light blue hair with two long locks running down his back, and a large lock of hair falling over his face. His ornate robes are predominantly dark blue with red trimmings and a green sash. The robe above his waist is open, exposing his chest, and his sleeves fall to partially cover his hands.

Behind him descends a long line of royal guards that walk onto the dock and line up behind the Temple Knights. The Guado-looking human turns back towards the boat and kneels while doing the prayer gesture. Everyone from the crowd follows suit, bowing while doing the prayer gesture, with the exception of Tidus. At the top of the ramp, a frail old man, an elderly Ronso, and a pudgy older man appear and walk down the ramp.

Vaed stiffens and shivers at the sight. "Three of the Maesters, that's unheard of." Vaed whispers quietly in astonishment. Vaed notices Tidus not bowing, and forces him to bow like the others. "I told you about the Maesters before. Please, show them the respect they deserve."

Tidus nods in understanding and whispers back. "Okay, they're Maesters…but who are they exactly?"

Vaed glances back to the Maesters before looking down. "The one in front is Grand Maester Mika. The Ronso is Maester Kelk Ronso. And the final one is Maester Kinoc. I'll explain more later, but for now, please be quiet." Vaed pleads urgently, beside himself with nervousness.

The three Maesters stop in front of the Guado-looking human as Mika speaks. "People of Spira, we thank you for your generous welcome." Mika looks down at the Guado-looking man kneeling before him. "Rise, Maester Seymour, and all of you as well." He instructs cheerfully.

Everyone stands normally, looking at Seymour in shock and awe. Mika holds his hand out to Seymour before speaking to the crowd again. "I present to you the son of Maester Jyscal Guado, who departed for the Farplane a fortnight past." He pauses for a moment, giving the crowd a chance to pray for Jyscal before continuing. "As some of you already know, Lord Seymour has been officially ordained a Maester of Yevon."

Seymour turns to address the crowd, looking proud and confident. "I am Seymour Guado. I am honored to receive the title of Maester. In life, my father, Jyscal, worked to foster friendship between man and Guado. I vow to carry on his legacy, and to fulfill my duties as Maester to the best of my abilities."

After that, the Maesters and their guard begin to walk away. As they do, Seymour stops and stares directly at Yuna for several moments. A certain curiosity and lust come from his look before he continues on to follow his fellow Maesters as everyone bows to them as they pass.

Vaed had caught the look and felt the feelings from Seymour's momentary glance. It spiked his curiosity for a moment before he rationalized that he just recognized Yuna as Lord Braska's daughter. Vaed breathes easily before he cracks a smile. "We just saw all four Maesters. This is, without a doubt, the best day of my life."

Wakka turns towards Ezriel and Tidus. "Alright! Last meeting before the match! Let's hustle!" Wakka says enthusiastically before the group walks off towards the stadium.

* * *

Evan and Tess exit the booth for the martial arts competition, each with sheets of paper with the rules and schedule for the tournament. As they pass the café, they overhear a conversation between two people exiting. "Was that my imagination, or did I see Sir Auron and Sir Marcus in there?"

"I thought it was them, too. They must be here for the festival."

Evan and Tess stop and look at each other. "Dad and Sir Auron are here?" Tess says looking at the café in longing. "Hey, could you go get Tidus and Yuna, they might want to see them."

Evan looks at Tess then looks around nervously. "I don't think I should leave you alone."

Tess rolls her eyes at Evan. "If they are in their, I'll be with two legendary Guardians. If not, I'll run back to meet you. I should be okay for a couple minutes by myself."

Evan didn't look too convinced but he sighs in defeat. "If it's them, then make sure to keep them there. I don't want to come back with the others just to see you three gone."

Tess sticks out her tongue childishly at Evan before running into the café. Evan sighs worriedly before running back towards the stadium. Near the entrance, he sees Kimahri, Vaed, Yuna, and Lulu standing around talking animatedly. "Hey!" He calls to them as he approaches.

Yuna smiles brightly upon seeing him. "How'd the sign up go? You guys took forever."

Evan groans and smacks his forehead. "Apparently I wasn't the only one with the idea. The line was long as hell."

Vaed looks around before narrowing his eyes at Evan. "Where's Tess?"

Evan snaps his fingers, nearly forgetting why he came back so quickly. "Oh yeah, we heard a couple of people talking on the way back. They said that Sir Auron and Marcus were in the café in town. Tess wanted to go look and told me to come back for you and Tidus." Evan says nodding towards Yuna.

Yuna smiles brightly before giggling a little. "Let's go get him." Yuna says then runs off towards the Aurochs' locker rooms with Kimahri and Lulu in tow.

Vaed starts walking off towards the town. "I'll see you guys there. I gotta make sure that Tess is okay." Vaed says running off, looking worried.

Evan nods in understanding, since he didn't want to leave her alone either. He then turns and follows the others down into the locker room. Evan sees Kimahri leaning against the wall just outside the Aurochs' locker room and leans beside him, waiting for the others to come out.

Tidus and Yuna come walking out of the locker room, leaving Lulu with the Aurochs. "Maybe now we can find Sir Jecht." Yuna says positively.

Tidus raises an eyebrow in confusion. "How?" He asks, not seeing the connection.

Yuna smiles at Tidus knowingly. "Sir Auron was also my father's Guardian. So, he might know where Sir Jecht is." Yuna and Kimahri start walking off. "Let's go!" She calls back to Tidus and Evan.

They start to follow, but stop as they see two players from the Al Bhed Psyches talking and watching Yuna. "Y myto Summoner." One says to his teammate.

The other nods in agreement, staring after Yuna. "Fa sicd napund." He says urgently.

Tidus looks at them with a competitive smile. "Hey! Al Bhed Psyches, right? Some Al Bhed saved me the other day and…this girl Rikku gave me some food and…" The blank stares he was getting from the Al Bhed were making Tidus realize they have no idea what he's saying. "You don't understand me, do you?" The two continue to stare at Tidus incomprehensively. "Anyway…if you meet Rikku, tell her thanks for me. Oh, and as for the first game. May the best team win." Tidus says before he starts to walk away.

He stops however as he sees Evan step up to be right in front of them. "Mecdah, E ghuf fryd oui'na kuehk du dno du tu. E ys ycgehk oui du naluhcetan. Ev oui dno du dyga ran, E femm syga oui naknad ed." Evan says threatenly.

They both stand up, obviously goaded by what Evan said. "Yht fro cruimt fa mecdah du oui? Yevonites ymfyoc drehg fryd fa tu ec fnuhk. Hu! Fryd oui tu ec fnuhk!" One says angrily.

The other looked just as angry. "Dryd'c nekrd! Fa fuh'd cdyht po frema Summoners yna cylnevelat du vimvemm draen 'tido'." He says balling his hands into fists.

Evan looks at them sadly. "E ihtancdyht fro oui tu ed. E dnimo tu. Pid..." Suddenly Evan grabs them by the fronts of their shirts and lifts them off the ground. "Ev oui dyga ran, E femm lusa vun ran. E femm payd yhouha dryd kadc eh so fyo. E femm tacdnuo ajano ped uv machina oui bid ib du cdub sa. Yht frah E kad ran pylg, E femm cehg ouin puyd. Tu E syga socamv ihtancduut?" Evan says glaring harshly at the helpless Al Bhed. They look at Evan, apprehension making them shiver with fear as they nod in agreement.

Evan smirks menacingly before dropping them on their backsides. "Kuut." Evan turns to Tidus and smirks pleasantly. "Come on, Newbie." Evan says before walking away.

Tidus hurries to catch up then walks beside Evan. "You can speak Al Bhed?"

Evan nods and sighs reluctantly. "Yeah, just keep that between us for now, okay?"

Tidus looks back at the still frightened Al Bhed. "Sure, man. But if you could speak it, why couldn't you translate for me?"

Evan lets out a snort of amusement. "It was funnier to watch you make an idiot of yourself." Evan says teasingly. "So how is Rikku?"

Tidus shrugs then stops, gawking at Evan. "You know Rikku?"

Evan stops and turns to Tidus before nodding and putting a finger to his lips. "Just keep that bit to yourself, okay? It was a long time ago. She's the reason I can speak Al Bhed." Evan then turns back around and starts walking again. "Let's get going, Newbie." Evan says impatiently.

* * *

Tess walks into the café looking around until she sees Auron and Marcus sitting alone. Tess runs over to them eagerly. "Dad!" She calls out as she hugs onto her father.

Marcus laughs merrily and puts out his cigarette before returning her hug. "Hey, kiddo!" Marcus pats her head and pulls out a chair for her. "Sit down, you remember Auron, right?"

Tess looks from Marcus to Auron and bows respectfully. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir Auron. I doubt you remember me, but my name is Tess."

Auron's collar hides his smile and he bows his head. "I remember you, you've grown a lot in ten years."

Tess blushes heavily from being recognized by Auron and sits down. "So what are you doing here?"

Marcus lights up another cigarette and hooks his thumb at Auron. "Auron says he's waiting for someone. I met up with him about a week ago, thought I'd stick with him for old time's sakes. What're you doing here?"

Tess smirks proudly. "I became a Summoner, I'm traveling with the others to Zanarkand." Marcus drops his cigarette in shock and looks to Auron quickly before looking back to Tess, giving her a hard stare. Tess suddenly looked very worried that Marcus would speak against it. "Dad…please don't…this is what I want to do."

Marcus remains quiet for a long moment before letting out a sigh and smiling at Tess. "If that is what you truly want, then I'll support it." Marcus quickly finishes his drink. "So you're traveling with Yuna? Who else is with you?"

Tess lets out a breath she didn't realize she was holding in, she wanted her father's approval for becoming a Summoner. Now that she had it she was happy. "Wakka, Lulu, and Kimahri are Yuna's Guardians. Ezriel and Vaed are mine. Evan is here for the tournament, but he's unsure about joining Yuna. And Tidus, who's from Zanarkand."

Marcus smirks at Auron confidently. "I told you they'd be here. If he's anything like Jecht, then he'd come to Luca for Blitzball."

Tess looks at Marcus with wide eyes of disbelief. "You know Tidus?"

Marcus chuckles and shakes his head. "Not personally. I've never met him. But Auron here has been looking after the boy for the last ten years."

Auron gives Marcus an annoyed look while Tess looks at Auron in bewilderment. "Sir Auron, you've been to Zanarkand?"

Auron continues to stare at Marcus in annoyance. "It's a complicated matter."

Marcus laughs nervously as he glances at Auron. "Sorry, maybe I should shut up now."

Auron finishes his drink and looks away. "That would be wise."

"Actually, Evan went to bring Tidus and Yuna here, they've been curious about Sir Jecht and they want to speak with you." Tess says to Auron.

Auron nods in understanding while Marcus grabs their glasses and hands them to Tess. "Well, if they're going to come here, then why don't you get us a refill and we'll wait for them."

Tess smiles brightly and takes the glasses. "Alright, I'll be right back." She says then heads up to the bar.

Marcus looks to Auron apologetically. "I'm sorry, I spoke too soon."

Auron sighs heavily. "You've never been one to hide anything, so I can't really blame you. But I ask that you remain quiet until I have spoken to Tidus. He needs to know about Jecht."

Marcus nods in acceptance and picks up his cigarette. The door to the café opens and Vaed walks in looking around frantically. "Tess? Tess!" He calls out, looking worried.

Marcus waves to him in welcome. "Don't worry, she's just…" Marcus looks to the bar, but doesn't see Tess. Only her sais was lying on the floor. "Oh no!" Marcus jumps to his feet and looks around. "How could I be so stupid?" He yells angrily before grabbing his sword and tucking it into his belt. "Let's go, Auron. We have a Summoner to find."

Auron grabs his sword as well and gets to his feet, looking calm. "We'll find her." He looks to Vaed, giving him a once over. "You are one of Tess' Guardians, correct?"

Vaed, looking frantic, nods in confirmation. "Yes, and I'd give you a proper introduction, Sir Auron, but right now we have bigger problems."

Auron chuckles softly and heads for the door. "Agreed." He says and they all leave the café to look for Tess.

* * *

Evan and Tidus exit the stadium to see Yuna and Kimahri surrounded by people who are sharing their hopes that Yuna will defeat Sin. As Evan and Tidus approach, Yuna looks to the crowd apologetically. "I'm sorry, please let me through." She asks politely and the crowd disperses before she turns to them. "Hey, let's go!"

Tidus laughs as he watches the crowd move away. "You're really famous." He says admirably before they all start walking away.

Yuna looked around at the large city in awe. "I hope we don't get separated."

Evan chuckles from beside her. "Don't worry, we won't. And if we do, I'll find ya." Evan promises with a smile, making Yuna smile back.

As they go further into town Evan looks at Tidus, curiously. "So, Newbie, how close does Luca stand up to Zanarkand?"

Tidus stops and looks around the city again, looking a little less overwhelmed. "Well, in Zanarkand, there are more buildings. They're all tall and cramped together."

Yuna looks at Tidus in awe. "They must be so tall! Don't you ever get dizzy?"

Evan and Tidus look at Yuna then at each other before laughing. "I doubt people who live in cities like that are worried about heights." Evan says with a laughing smile.

Tidus looks at Evan curiously. "So you believe I'm from Zanarkand now?"

Evan shrugs indifferently. "Let's just say I'm willing to suspend my disbelief until I get more facts."

Yuna nods in understanding then smiles at Tidus. "Don't worry, I believe you. Now, let's go find Sir Auron."

They all head towards the café and enter. Tidus looks around but doesn't see Auron anywhere. "Auron's not here."

Evan pats Tidus' shoulder and looks around. "Don't worry, maybe someone saw where they went?"

Tidus looks up at Evan, looking confused. "They? You know Auron is only one person, right?"

Evan chuckles and shakes his head. "I heard that my step-dad was traveling with Auron. I want to see him, dummy. Besides, Tess and Vaed should be here too, but they aren't." Evan says worriedly before he and Yuna walk off to ask around.

As Kimahri enters the café, two large Ronso stand and walk over to him. The taller one has dark grey fur and blonde hair, the shorter one, who was still taller than Kimahri, was light grey with brown hair. Both had large horns on their forehead where Kimahri should have had one too.

The dark grey one glares at Kimahri. "Why not talk, Kimahri? Not see Yenke for ten years! Say Something!" That drew the attention of pretty much everyone in the café. "Kimahri forget Yenke? Forget Biran?"

Biran pulls Yenke back slightly. "Leave Kimahri, Yenke. Kimahri is small Ronso. Kimahri so small can't see Yenke and Biran's faces." Biran taunts harshly.

Yenke wasn't having any of it though. "Kimahri forget Ronso friends? We taught you much at time of horn-molt. Biran taught Kimahri to be strong Ronso."

Biran steps forward to glare down at Kimahri. "Maybe taught too much." Biran says before pushing Kimahri's shoulder.

Tidus steps up behind Kimahri, ready to help. "Take 'em on!"

Evan walks over and grabs Tidus' shoulder. "Are you insane? They start a fight in here and people could get hurt!" Evan says urgently.

Yenke laughs at them for their cowardice, but Kimahri takes the opportunity to deliver an uppercut to Yenke's chin, sprawling Yenke on the floor. "Take it outside!" The bartender says angrily. "The tournament's starting, you hear?" But Biran punches Kimahri right on his cheek, but Kimahri stays standing.

Evan looks around to make sure that Yuna was out of harm's way, but couldn't find her. "Oh shit!" Evan shouts frantically before running around, looking everywhere. "Shit! Guys! Yuna's gone!" Evan shouts in fright. Kimahri looks at Evan, shocked that Yuna was gone. Biran decides to take the opportunity to throw another punch at Kimahri, but before it could hit, Evan catches it with his hand. "Sorry, we have personal matters to deal with. Ronso matters can wait." Evan says through clenched teeth, trying to keep his fury from spilling onto the Ronso.

Biran was shocked that the little man could actually catch his punch. But what also shocked him was that Evan was on the other side of the café, and he managed to get past all the tables and people to catch the punch within a second's time. "You…dare interfere, little man."

Evan pushes Biran's arm away. "When it comes to Guardian business, Ronso business takes the back seat. Tidus, Kimahri, let's go. She couldn't have gotten far." Evan says as they all leave the café.

* * *

Tess started to come to, the back of her head hurting greatly. The last thing she remembered was sitting the glasses for Auron and Marcus' drinks down on the bar. Then something had hit her from behind and knocked her out.

She opens her eyes and looks around. She was being dragged up stairs from Luca to Mi'Ihen Highroad with her hands bound by rope and a cloth tied around her mouth and head to keep her muffled. Eight Al Bhed in jumpsuits surround her, two dragging her by her arms. Two other Al Bhed stands ahead of them, though they wore martial arts uniforms, one white, and one black. And there was one more ahead of them, he wore a black coat with red flame designs on them. They all wore masks over their heads, so identifying them was impossible.

One of the Al Bhed dragging her notices that she's awake. "Cra'c yfyga!" He yells forward, getting the attention of the two Al Bhed in martial arts uniforms.

They turn and walk back to Tess. "Tuh'd funno, ran ryhtc yht suidr yna puiht. Cra fuimth'd pa kuehk yhofrana un lymmehk vun ramb." The one in white says assuring the others.

The one in black nods approvingly. "Gaab y kuut rumt uv ran yht fa'mm syga cina cra'c dygah lyna uv." He says before he and the other martial artist walk ahead again.

Tess looks down at her hands and focuses on her Fire Fists. Flames emit from her hand and burn the rope, releasing her hands. She quickly pushes her captures away and jumps back to get some distance while removing the gag. "You bastards are really going to pay now!" She says slamming her fists together. "Thunder Fists!" She cries out, making electricity surround her fists.

The Al Bhed look at her in shock before they all pull out metal batons. "Oui cruimt ryja lusa xieadmo. Huf fa'mm ryja du dyga oui po vunla!" One of them says angrily.

Tess growls in annoyance. "I don't know what you said, but it just pissed me off." Tess rushes forward with great speed and drives her electrified fist into the gut of the first Al Bhed.

The guy doubles over in a gasp of pain and falls to the ground groaning. Tess immediately jumps up and spins around, bringing out her leg and kicking two Al Bhed, who were unfortunate enough to be close, right across their faces, sending them sprawling to the ground. Tess lands on her knees and reaches out with both hands, catching two batons that were coming down on her from both sides of her. She jumps up and kicks them both in the stomach, knocking them away and getting two batons as weapons.

Tess flips them in her hands so she was holding them correctly then ducks as an Al Bhed swings a baton at her head. She drives her elbow back and up, cracking him in the chest, before spinning and smacking him repeatedly on the head with both batons. When he starts to fall down, she quickly spins and kicks him with enough force to send them crashing into another Al Bhed.

She turns around and brings her leg up, kicking a baton that was coming at her right in to the face of the Al Bhed trying to hit her, making him crumple to the ground. Tess brings her batons up and smacks another baton away, before kneeling and spinning, knocking the legs out from under another Al Bhed. She then jumps up and does a front flip, bringing her legs down onto the Al Bhed's head, knocking him out.

Tess sees the two guys that she had kicked in the face earlier and stuffs the batons in her belt. She rushes forward and jumps, spinning quickly and brings her fist down on his face, knocking him down and out. She then delivers a series of heavy blows to the other one's chest and stomach before smashing her fist into his face.

Then she saw the two guys she got the batons from getting to their feet and rushes towards them. She brings her leg up between them and repeatedly kicks them in the head back and forth, knocking them out. Tess turns towards the remaining three and sees the two martial artists in fighting stances with swords drawn. "Oui femm cdub drec cahcamacc jeumahla huf!" The one in white cries out angrily.

The one in black grips his sword tighter. "Fa yna dnoehk du cyja oui! Tu oui hud ihtancdyht!"

Tess scoffs and gets into a fighting stance with her two batons. "Yeah, whatever you say. Let's do this."

The Al Bhed rushes forward, bringing their swords in for a stab. Tess jumps straight up over their heads and lands behind them. The one in black turns quickly, bringing his sword in for a slash, but Tess blocks it and ducks under it. Tess stabs her baton forward and hits him in the gut before she had to back away as the one in white swings his sword down at her. Tess brings her batons down on them, but they bring their swords up and knock the batons from her hands.

Tess quickly backs up and smacks her fists together again. "Thunder Fist!" She cries out, making more electricity emit from her fists. She gets into a stance and waits for them. They charge at Tess together, getting ready for another stab. Tess however ducks out of the way, one of the swords cutting her right cheek as she drives both of her electrified fists into their guts.

They both cry out in pain as they shudder with the electricity before falling to the ground unconscious. Tess turns to the final Al Bhed, the one in the black coat with red flames. "Esbnacceja. E sicd cyo, fa ihtanacdesydat ouin vekrdehk ypemedeac."

Tess sighs in heavy annoyance. "I don't understand a word you're saying. So stop with the chitchat!"

The man gets into a fighting stance. "Rufajan, huf dryd oui sicd vekrd sa, oui femm vymm." Fire starts to emit from his fists. "E femm gaab oui ymeja, tuh'd funno. Pid vun dra cyvado uv ouincamv yht so lnaf, E sicd syga cina oui femm hud ryns dras. E femm ryja du pinh ouin ynsc cajanamo." The man says before throwing a punch and sending a large stream of fire Tess' way.

Tess' eyes widen at the fire, but she jumps to the side to avoid it. "Holy crap! What the hell are you doing?" Tess says before smacking her fists together. "Water Fists!" She cries out, making water surround her fists.

The man quickly jumps forward, sliding his foot forward and making a stream of wide spread fire shoot towards Tess. But before it reached her, Vaed jumps in front and disperses the fire with his armor. "You will leave Lady Tess alone!" Vaed yells angrily drawing the string of his bow back and forming a brightly shining arrow. "Leave now!"

The man stands still, bringing his fists back. But before he could throw a punch and another fireball, Marcus rushes forward and punches the man in the face. The man flies backwards from the force of the punch and lands on the ground without moving. "Well, that was fun." Marcus says merrily before looking around at the other downed Al Bhed. "You took them all on?"

Tess, who was breathing heavily, nods and sits on the ground. "Yeah, they went down hard." Tess says proudly and tiredly.

Marcus whistles in appreciation. "Good to know that you've learned to fight. Evan trained you I'm guessing." Marcus says handing her the sais she dropped in the cafe.

Tess nods and takes the sais back. "Yeah, he did. Glad he did, too, just in case things like this happen."

Auron looks around. "We are lucky you are able to take care of yourself. Just don't try to get captured from now on."

Tess laughs and gets to her feet, finally calming down and getting her breath back. "I'll try, Sir Auron."

Vaed puts his bow back on his back and walks over to Auron before bowing respectfully. "I apologize for my rudeness earlier. I am Vaed Himura, Commander of the Besaid Temple Knights and Guardian to Lady Tess Amari."

Auron actually laughs and bows in return. "I am Auron Zanari, former Guardian to Braska Kaname."

Vaed and Auron stand up and shake hands. "It is a great honor to meet you, Sir Auron." Vaed says humbly.

Marcus laughs at the two. "Come on, let's get back before the others have a cow for us leaving them."

Tess looks thoughtful for a moment. "I think it'd be better if we met them at the stadium. Tidus, Wakka, and Ezriel are going to be playing in the sphere. We can meet the others there since they'll want to watch the game."

Marcus shrugs and pulls out a cigarette before lighting it. "Yeah, okay. To the stadium then!" Marcus says indifferently before leading the other back towards Luca.

* * *

Evan, Kimahri, and Tidus exit the café, looking around wildly for any sign of Yuna. They see Lulu running up to them, looking frantic. "Where in Spira have you been?" She asks astoundingly.

Evan points to Tidus and scowls. "Newbie started a fight between Kimahri and two Ronso. Now Yuna's gone. What's going on?"

Lulu looks to Tidus with a furious glare before shaking her head to get back on point. "Yuna's been kidnapped by the Al Bhed Psyches. In exchange for her safe return, they want the Aurochs to lose." Lulu explains hurriedly.

Evan's eyes widen in shock and anger. "WHAT?" He roars in furious anger.

Lulu actually flinches away, but composes herself quickly. "If they're only Blitzball players, I doubt they'd do anything drastic. But, we shouldn't take chances."

Evan was visibly shaking with anger. "Do you know where they took her?"

Lulu nods and unknowing takes a step back, never seeing Evan so angry. "Yes, dock four."

Evan pulls out his hammer from his pouch and looks to the others. "I'll go get Yuna, get back to the stadium. We'll be there soon." Evan says right before running off very quickly.

Lulu looks after Evan and grinds her teeth together. "I'm the Guardian, I should be the one going." Lulu looks up to Kimahri. "I'm going after them. What about you, Kimahri?"

For an answer Kimahri pulls out his spear and starts running off. Lulu looks to Tidus and nods. "You should head back to the stadium, Wakka and Ezriel will need you."

Tidus pulls out Brotherhood and shakes his head. "They can last without me. I'm coming with you." Tidus says determinedly and rushes off to follow Kimahri with Lulu following close behind.

They head back towards the stadium, and head down towards the fifth dock, but as they pass it, they see a large pile of boxes and crates that they couldn't climb. "Damn, they thought ahead." Lulu says angrily.

They could hear a fight going on on the other side of the obstacle. "Come on, we'll try the other way!" Tidus says turning around and running for the first dock, with the others in tow.

They make their way to the fourth dock where it is littered with a dozen unconscious Al Bhed and even more busted ancient small machina drones, Mech Guards, and a broken hammer lying on the ground. Evan smashes into the wall of the dock and slowly gets to his feet, wincing in pain. As the other approach they see the Al Bhed ship starting out to sea. Evan, seeing the others arrive, rushes forward and slams into the Defender to get it out of the way. "GO!" He yells before continuing his assault on the Defender.

Tidus nods and they all go charging towards the boat and jump on before it was too far away. As they land on the deck, the cargo door opens and another big machina gets raised up onto the deck. It was a bulbous machine, held up by four small legs, and two turbines on top. A round tube on its front made it look like a cannon.

Tidus looks at the Oblitzerator in determination. "Alright, if this is what we have to go through to get Yuna back, then bring it on!" Tidus says before charging forward and slashing it with his sword, making a small scratch on it.

"Thunder!" Lulu cries out, striking the thing with a small bolt of lightning.

The Oblitzerator's generators start to hum with power and something inserts itself into the tube. It points it right at Tidus and fires a Blitzball at him.

Evan jumps down and back hands the ball away and out to sea. "You guys okay?" Evan says getting into a fighting stance.

Lulu looks at Evan then back to the dock, which was really far away now. "How in Yevon did you get out here?"

Evan growls and jumps forward, ignoring the question as he slams his fist through the Oblitzerator's shell. The generators start to hum again and the Oblitzerator fires a blitzball at Evan at point blank range, hitting him and sending him flying back and hitting the back of the boat. Evan coughs but gets to his feet, taking another fighting stance. "That's how you want to play it, huh?"

The Oblitzerator puts another blitzball in its tube and fires it at Evan. Evan spins and jumps, kicking the blitzball right back at the Obliterator's tube, clogging it up. Evan holds his right arm out to the side. "White Lightning!" He cries out. Lightning sparks into existence right at the edge of his middle finger and wraps down around his hand, wrist, and arm. Sparking violently, the lightning spins around on his arm, acting like a drill.

Evan jumps up into the air towards the Oblitzerator and drives his hand right into it up to his shoulder. The lightning then appears all around the Oblitzerator, frying it until it plops to the deck. Evan removes his arm and jumps down from the wreckage, heading towards the door leading into the boat.

Before he gets to the door, it opens, showing an Al Bhed who falls on his face unconscious. Behind him was Yuna holding her staff like a weapon. Evan lets out a sigh of relief and chuckles in amusement. "Maybe next time, we'll leave you alone. You seem to be able to handle yourself."

Yuna runs forward and hugs Evan while giggling. "No, I'm glad you're here."

Evan hugs her back and takes a deep breath. "Well then, I hope you had fun."

Yuna giggles and lets him go. "Maybe a little." Then Yuna looks around at the wreckage on the boat. "What happened here?"

Evan looks at the wreckage like it was no big deal. "We had a small disagreement about how they got you. We told them they shouldn't do that. I think we got our point across."

Lulu and Tidus walk up to them. "That doesn't explain how you got from the dock to the ship. We had to have been about two-hundred feet out. How did you get onto the ship?"

Evan rubs the back of his head nervously. "I jumped?" He says hoping that'll cover it.

Yuna notices Tidus looking around the ship, and decided to help Evan out. "What is it?"

Tidus looks around, looking a little disappointed. "There were these Al Bhed that saved my life when I first came to Spira. They took me on their ship, even gave me food. I was kinda hoping this was the same ship. But it's not." Tidus says sadly while looking away. "I wonder if they're all gone."

Evan raises an eyebrow in curiosity. "What does that mean? What happened?"

Tidus rubs his face tiredly. "Sin came up near us. I made it out okay, but I don't know what happened to their ship."

Yuna looked a little nervous for a moment, which sparked even more of Evan's curiosity. "Um, was there anyone called Cid on that ship?"

Tidus shrugs, looking out to sea. "I don't know. They were all speaking that Al Bhed language."

Yuna looked down, looking depressed. "I see…" She says softly.

Tidus looks back to Yuna. "So who's Cid?"

Yuna looked uncomfortable for a moment. "He's my uncle, but I've never actually met him."

"Holy crap!" Evan exclaims looking at Yuna like she spouted a second head. "You're Cid's niece? That…is just scary." Evan says shuddering.

Yuna looked baffled by that. "You know my uncle? When?  
Tidus points to Evan, remembering earlier. "You know how to speak Al Bhed, too! So that's how you know it. You've spent time with the Al Bhed." Tidus says excitedly.

Evan rolls his eyes at Tidus. "Yeah, that's how I learned it." Then Evan looks Yuna in the face. "I honestly just thought the two eye colors was just heterochromia. But you're half Al Bhed, aren't you?"

Yuna blushes, looking uncomfortable. "Yes, on my mother's side."

Evan nods in understanding and laughs loudly. "Wow, learn something new every day, huh?"

Yuna looks at Evan, somewhat baffled. "You…don't mind that I'm half Al Bhed?"

Evan snorts and smiles at Yuna. "No, I don't have a problem. Like I told Newbie, I spent time with the Al Bhed. I actually don't mind them." Evan looks to Tidus, urgently. "Don't tell Wakka about Yuna's lineage. Wakka can't stand Al Bhed. So keep this quiet." Evan snaps his fingers and points back to Luca. "Lu, please tell me you have a signal for Wakka."

Lulu gasps, completely forgetting the signal and fires a Fire spell into the air, using it as a signal flare. "There…now how are we going to get back to Luca?"

Evan smirks and walks up to the unconscious Al Bhed and slaps him across the face, waking him up. "Rao, vilgrayt, fyga ib yht dyga ic pylg du Luca." Evan says helping him up and taking him inside.

* * *

**Al Bhed letters** to English Letters

**A**-E,** B**-P,** C**-S, **D**-T, **E**-I, **F**-W, **G**-K, **H**-N, **I**-U, **J**-V, **K**-G, **L**-C, **M**-L, **N**-R, **O**-Y,** P**-B, **Q**-X, **R**-H, **S**-M, **T**-D, **U**-O, **V**-F, **W**-Z, **X**-Q, **Y**-A, **Z**-J


	10. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: Shadows of the Day**

The Aurochs and the Psyches were tied there-to-three, and the Psyches were hammering hard on the Aurochs. The Aurochs knew that if they won the game before Yuna was recovered then she would be lost to the Al Bhed. So they had to hold back throughout the entire game. And ever since the Aurochs scored their first point, the Psyches have been getting rougher with Wakka and Ezriel. Both Wakka and Ezriel were battered and worn from all the attacks that the Psyches were dishing out that they couldn't return.

A sudden glare caught the Aurochs' attention and Wakka and Ezriel look up. They see Lulu's fire spell in the air, it was their signal that told them that Yuna was safe. Wakka and Ezriel look at each other and smirk before Wakka signals the Aurochs to go all in. Ezriel shoots forward like a bullet and rams right into the ball holder. Ezriel takes the ball and swims around the guy, kicking him and using him as a platform to give him more speed as he rushes for the goal.

The entire team converges on Ezriel, determined to stop him before he could make the game winning goal. Ezriel smirks wickedly at the four-man block formation. As they come at him, Ezriel dodges the first tackler gracefully. Ezriel then plows through the remaining players, dishing out some violence of his own for payback. However, as Ezriel was about to pass the last man, he grabs onto Ezriel's ankle, making Ezriel jerk and fumble the ball.

With no time to shake loose and before the ball could float away, Ezriel backhands the ball into Wakka's open arms. Wakka, completely unopposed, quickly swims to the goal. Only the nervous-looking goalie was in Wakka's way now. But Wakka was confident, even though he was tired and injured. Wakka kicks the ball forcefully, watching as it zips right through the goalie's open hands and scores.

The last two seconds pass and the buzzer rings, signaling the end of the game and the Aurochs' victory four-to-three. Ezriel swims up to Wakka and pats him on the back as the crowd cheers wildly for the Aurochs' victory. The other Aurochs swim up to Wakka and, with their help, help Wakka and Ezriel out of the sphere. Though they were tired and banged up, the cheering crowd brought smiles to their faces.

* * *

Yuna, Tidus, and Lulu stand on the dock, watching the last minute of the game while Evan and Kimahri were unloading the Al Bhed from the ship and laying them on the dock. Yuna smiles brightly at the victory. "We did it! We're in the finals!" Yuna cheers enthusiastically.

Lulu looked happier than usual, but she didn't really smile. "Not the most…graceful win." Lulu crosses her arms, looking distracted now. "If it was Chappu, he'd still be standing."

Evan and Kimahri walk up after letting the Al Bhed's ship float out into the water. "No one will measure up to Chappu, Lu. But, we won, that's all that matters." Evan says looking back at the ship. Once it was a good distance away, Evan points his finger at it, holding it like a gun. "Bang!" A white light shoots out of his finger and strikes the boat. On contact the boat explodes and begins to sink.

Yuna's eyes widen in shock at the sinking ship. "What're you doing?" She asks, startled by the sudden explosion.

Evan lowers his hand and looks away from Yuna, sounding embarrassed. "I told them that if they went after you I'd make them pay. I'm just keeping my word."

Yuna was struck by that, but Tidus walks up to Tidus. "Is that what you told them at the stadium?"

Lulu looks at Evan furiously. "You knew something like this was going to happen?"

Evan glares at Lulu before turning away and taking a deep calming breath. "There's always a chance that Al Bhed will try to kidnap Yuna or Tess. I told them that if they tried, I would find them, I would crush them, and I would sink their ship."

Tidus looks from the sinking ship to Evan. "You don't pull any punches, do you?" Tidus says appreciatively.

Evan turns to look at the burning wreckage and shrugs. "Not when it counts." Evan then turns back towards the stadium and stuffs his hands in his pockets. "Let's go congratulate our finalists." Evan says nonchalantly before walking off, the others following him.

* * *

Inside the locker room, the Aurochs stand around Wakka, who is lying down on one of the benches. He was groaning in pain, now feeling the full extent of his injuries. Ezriel, though taking a beating, looks fresh and ready for the next match. Ezriel lets out a tired sigh and crosses his arms. "And here I was thinking I would take a break and let the Newbie take my spot. Now it looks like he'll be taking your spot."

Wakka looks in Ezriel's direction, looking put-off. "I'm fine." Wakka says, trying to sit up. Halfway up, though, he plops back down onto the bench, wincing in pain and short of breath.

Ezriel lets out a resigned sigh and shakes his head. "Right now, you're in no shape to play."

Wakka just groans and covers his eyes with his arm. "I can't believe I'm not going to play in the finals." Wakka says forlornly.

Ezriel look up at the clock and taps his foot impatiently. "The game starts in a few minutes. Where the hell is he?" Ezriel says in agitation.

There's a knock on the door and Tidus and Lulu walk in. Tidus looks around at the Aurochs and smirks. "Miss me?"

Ezriel looks at Tidus humorlessly. "Like a cold. Now come on, we have only a few minutes for warm-ups." Ezriel looks to Lulu now, looking worried. "We saw your signal, but I don't see Yuna."

"Yuna's safe, she's up in the stands with Evan and Kimahri now. She told me to tell you guys 'Good Luck' and that she'll be cheering for you." Lulu says reassuringly, making the whole team sigh in relief. Lulu then sees Wakka lying on the bench and she looked worried for him.

Wakka sits up with much effort and wincing in pain. "The game starts soon. Ready?" Wakka says looking at his teammates.

The team, now getting pumped up, let out a cheer for victory. Tidus throws some punches in the air. "Lemme at 'em!"

Wakka smiles brightly at their enthusiasm. "Alright!" Wakka gets to his feet, trying to suppress his groans of pain. "I got something to tell you boys." Everybody goes silent for him. "After this game…I'm retiring. I promised myself this would be my last tournament. Win or lose, I'm quitting Blitzball." Wakka says to them all, getting shocked responses from everyone but Tidus and Ezriel.

After a moment of silence, Ezriel clears his throat. "I am, too. I might not make it back while I'm out there being a Guardian." Ezriel says very seriously before letting a small smirk creep up. "But if I do make it back, I expect to see every trophy you play for, or I'm going to make your lives a living hell." That got some chuckles out of his team. "But since this is mine and Wakka's last game, let's go out there and give the Goers hell!" Ezriel shouts, hyping up his team.

"YEAH!" The Aurochs roar.

Tidus jumps in the air, throwing a fist upward. "Let's Blitz!" Tidus shouts before him and the Aurochs rush out of the locker room.

Wakka watches them leave, his smile becoming a sad one. Footsteps from behind remind him that he isn't alone. "I saw you floating there, on the sphere." Lulu says, sounding a little worried.

Wakka turns to face her, getting slightly dizzy. "Hey, you weren't supposed to see that." Wakka says, trying to sound casual. It fails when his head spins so much that he collapses forward and Lulu is force to catch him.

Lulu wraps her arms around Wakka to hold him up, but then she turns it into a soft hug. "You really gave it your all, didn't you?" Lulu says softly and warmly.

Ezriel, who was standing outside the locker room to tell Wakka not to worry about the game, scoffs quietly at the moment and walks away. "That was just freaky." Ezriel says shuddering at the sound of Lulu being nice.

"This is it, folks! In just a few minutes, the championship begins!" Bobba yells excitedly over the loud speakers.

Wakka pulls out a marker and gets Lulu to help him to the wall. He writes on it before stepping back to look at his work.

**My best memories are here.**

**Wakka, Captain of the Besaid Aurochs**

Wakka becomes teary eyed as he looks at that. "I can't believe this is it." Wakka mutters to himself, he voice breaking a little. Lulu holds Wakka tighter, being quiet and letting Wakka have this moment.

* * *

At the entryway to the Sphere, the Aurochs huddle around. Ezriel looks at everyone fondly. "Gentlemen, who is the world champs at Blitzball?" Ezriel asks seriously.

"Besaid Aurochs!" They respond in slightly raised voices.

"Who has one every game they've been in for the last three years?" Ezriel asks, raising his voice a little.

"Besaid Aurochs!" They respond again, this time louder.

"Who is going out there today winning the Crystal Cup?" Ezriel asks, his voice getting louder too.

"Besaid Aurochs!" They respond again, a lot louder this time.

"Then tell me? Who is going to go out there and kick the crap out of those Luca Goers for the umpteenth time in a row?" Ezriel asks them very loudly.

"BESAID AUROCHS!" The respond in shouts.

"THAT'S RIGHT! NOW LET'S GO OUT THERE AND SHOW THEM ALL! NEVER MESS WITH THE AUROCHS!" Ezriel shouts, getting wild cheers from his teammates. Ezriel puts his hand in the center. "Alright boys! On three! For Wakka! One! Two! Three!"

"FOR CAP'N WAKKA!" They all cheer before entering into the sphere.

* * *

Up in the stands, Yuna, Evan, and Kimahri sit and cheer when the Aurochs come into the sphere. Yuna looks around at the players and frowns a little. "Where's Wakka?" She asks worriedly.

Evan frowns after he notices that too. "Maybe he got hurt worse than we thought?" Evan suggests thoughtfully.

Yuna looked more concerned now as she looks at Evan. "Maybe we should go see if he's okay?" Yuna asks as she begins to rise.

Evan puts a hand on her shoulder, pulling her down to her seat. "Lu's with him. He'll be okay." Evan says trying to reassure Yuna. Seeing that it wasn't working, he sighs heavily. "Alright, we'll go at halftime. This is my first time seeing a real Blitzball match, I'd like to see it without worrying about you being kidnapped again." Evan says teasingly.

Yuna sighs in defeat and frowns heavily before looking at Evan suspiciously. "You haven't seen a Blitzball game? Really?" Yuna asks disbelievingly.

Evan shrugs, putting on an expressionless mask. "Never really had an interest in it, and I really never had the time to sit and watch one." Evan says leaning back in his seat and relaxing. "I thought I'd enjoy myself a little."

Yuna raises an eyebrow curiously. "You never had the time to see a game in five years?" Yuna asks, still not believing him.

Evan's eyebrow twitches slightly. "I was…kinda busy with other things." Evan says quietly.

Yuna smiles and laughs a little. "You really like playing this mystery card, don't you?"

Evan sighs miserably. "Not at all." Evan looks to Yuna pleadingly. "Can you do me a favor? For just today, can we not talk about unpleasant memories or what happened in those five years?" Evan looks up to the sky dreamily. "I want today to be a good memory, so please?"

Yuna got a little nervous by that. She was frightened that something was going to happen that Evan wouldn't be around after today. So she puts on a smile and nods in agreement. "Alright." She says brightly before turning back to the match.

* * *

Elsewhere in the stands, Tess, Vaed, Auron, and Marcus walk into the stands to watch the game. "And who couldn't have guessed it'd come down to this? A championship game between the Luca Goers and, the current champions, the Besaid Aurochs!" Bobba calls out to the fans.

"This looks like another game for the history books, Bobba." Jimma says in agreement.

"Oh man!" Tess complains loudly. "I can't believe we missed everything but the finals!" Tess cries out angrily.

Vaed steps up beside her, looking around for any threats. "At least we made it. And we got Marcus entered into the tournament. Good thing they still had tickets, too, otherwise Sir Auron wouldn't be able to watch." Vaed says, trying to stay positive.

Marcus and Auron stay back, watching the game closely. "That Jecht's boy?" Marcus says pointing to Tidus. Auron nods in acknowledgement. "Seems to be just as good as his father, if Jecht's boasting wasn't just a crock." Marcus says gruffly.

Auron chuckles quietly. "It's not boasting if it's true. Jecht was just as good as he says."

The crowd goes wild as the Aurochs scored their first point over the Goers, Vaed and Tess cheering along with them. "Kick their asses, Tidus!"

Marcus chuckles quietly and murmurs to Auron. "Looks like the kid has an admirer."

Auron snorts softly and glances at Marcus. "Most fathers don't like it when their daughter falls for a guy."

Marcus shrugs and scoffs nonchalantly. "My daughter is a Summoner, she can like any boy she likes."

Auron shakes his head knowingly and watches the game. "Hoping he might make her stop?"

Marcus laughs loudly at that. "Apparently, you don't know my daughter. It'll take a lot more than that to make her quit." Marcus says proudly and sadly while the buzzer sounds for halftime.

* * *

In the Aurochs' locker room, Wakka lays on the bench, his head on Lulu's lap while watching the spherescreen. Yuna and Evan walk into the Aurochs room, leaving Kimahri in the hallway, and making Wakka turn his head to them. "Yuna, Evan, what're you doing here?"

Yuna smiles pleasantly and holds up her hands, wiggling her fingers. "We came to heal you. You really got hurt in there."

Lulu looks to Yuna gratefully. "He could use it." Lulu says, getting up gently, trying not to disturb Wakka too much.

Yuna goes to Wakka and kneels beside him. She places her hands on his chest and stomach and concentrates. "Cure." She mutters, her hands slightly glowing green as she starts to heal him. After a minute the glow fades from Yuna's hands. She stands up and moves a few steps back. "That should do it."

Wakka sits up, not groaning or wincing at all. He gets to his feet and stretches, feeling back to normal. "Thanks, Yuna." Wakka says, impressed by her healing abilities.

Yuna smiles and bows a little. "You're welcome." She says, proud of herself.

"Alright, folks! We're back from halftime! Right now its two-to-zero with the Aurochs in the lead! Let's see if the Goers can come back from this!" Bobba says from the spherescreen, as the Goers and the Aurochs go into the sphere pool.

"Oh no, it's starting already?" Yuna says in disappointment that they didn't get there in time to get Wakka back into the game.

Wakka smiles sadly as he watches the screen. "Don't worry about it, Yuna. It's only a game." Wakka sits down, his eyes glued to the screen.

Evan leans against the lockers to watch the game. "Might as well just watch the game from here. We might miss something if we leave now." The others get comfortable as well and watch the game.

At the three-minute mark, the crowd starts booing and jeering the game, though it was getting to be a close game with the Aurochs and the Goers tied three-to-three "Looks like the crowd is growing impatient! They're calling for some action!"

The crowd starts chanting together. "Wakka! Wakka! Wakka!" Which makes Lulu, Evan, and Yuna glance at Wakka.

Wakka looks choked up and teary eyed from the fans chanting. "Everyone seems to be calling for Wakka, folks!" On the screen, Tidus calls for a time-out and starts swimming for the locker rooms. "Say…Where is that player going? He's leaving the sphere pool! He may be injured!" Bobba says as Evan, Yuna, and Lulu take the opportunity to leave and go back up to their seats.

The door to the locker room opens again and Tidus walks in. Neither Wakka nor Tidus say a word as Wakka gets up and walks towards the sphere pool. Tidus sits down in the locker room and watches as Wakka swims back into the sphere pool to wild applause.

"I wonder what's happening? The crowd is going wild!" Bobba asks out loud before spotting Wakka. "Ah! It's Wakka! He's back on the field and ready to go!" All the Aurochs swim over and show that they're glad to have Wakka back.

Everyone goes to their starting positions as the blitzball gets set for the new round. The ball is released and Wakka catches the blitzball. He swims towards the Goers' goal with fierce determination.

Once Wakka saw that he was going to be blocked, he passes the ball to Datto. Datto catches the ball, but gets tackled hard by Bickson. Datto manages to hold onto the ball, but the tackle had taken him out of the fight. He quickly tosses the ball to Ezriel with what strength he had left.

Ezriel shoots through the Goers' defense before passing the ball back to Wakka, who had snuck up while the others were distracting the team. Wakka starts spinning as the ball approaches him, and as it does, Wakka kicks it as hard as he could towards the Goers' goal. The ball shoots like a bullet right into the goalies' chest. The force of the hit knocks the goalie, along with the ball, into and through the goal.

The buzzer goes off, signaling the end of the game, and the crowd was cheering wildly. "And what a game, folks! The Besaid Aurochs have won the championship once again with an upset victory over the Luca Goers, four-to-three!" Bobba exclaims excitedly.

Tidus enters the sphere pool and swims over to Wakka and Ezriel who were floating lazily in the water. At Tidus' approach, the give him a smile and a thumbs up, letting him know they were okay. That's when their victory was soured by the shrieks of fright coming from the stands.

* * *

Fiends had suddenly appeared inside the stadium and were attacking the people. "Where in the hell did these idiots come from?" Marcus yells over the screams of fright, drawing his sword. Auron draws his sword as well, while Vaed pulls out his bow, and Tess grips her Sais.

Vaed and Tess start herding people away from danger as two Vouivre fiends walk up to the older men. Auron and Marcus smirk at the beasts, confidently. Vaed makes an arrow appear and prepares to shoot. "Master Marcus, Sir Auron, I need a clear shot."

Marcus holds his hand up to stop Vaed as Auron shrugs his limp arm out of his coat while Marcus' sword emits low silver flames. "Leave these guys to us. Save your strength for important shots, not something we can handle." Together, Marcus and Auron rush forward and slice through the Vouivre with one swing. The carcasses of the fiends fall to the ground and pyreflies start floating upward.

"Auron!" They hear Tidus call from behind.

"Master Marcus?" Wakka and Ezriel say in unison, completely surprised to run into the two legendary Guardians.

They turn to look at the blitzers running up, weapons in hand, just as a large Garuda fiend flies up to fight them. Marcus laughs merrily and jumps onto the Garuda's back. His sword flashes brighter as it swings down and removes the Garuda's head. The body starts to plummet, but Marcus jumps back to the others before he could go with it.

Wakka, Ezriel, and Tidus were struck with completely shock at the display of killing a larger fiend so quickly. "Fight fiends now, get star-struck later!" Tess says before punching a Dingo fiend with a frost-covered punch.

Vaed and Tess get backed up into the others as they get surrounded by angry looking fiends. Marcus scowls at the fiends and prepares his sword. "Really? These things are that dumb?" Marcus says disapprovingly. But before he could act, a bright glow catches their attention.

Seymour, standing right on the edge of the V.I.P. box, is performing the prayer gesture. A portal in the air above Seymour opens up and a giant anchor drops down into another portal below Seymour. As it comes back up it brings a massive demon-looking Aeon who is chained heavily. Anima roars miserably while looking around at the fiends attacking the stadium.

Anima's left eye glows and a ball of energy crashes into a nearby fiend, completely obliterating it. Anima repeats that action with every fiend in the stadium, saving many people from certain death. Soon, the entire stadium is engulfed with the pyreflies of the fallen fiends. Seymour dismisses Anima and begins doing the Sending for the pyreflies, sending them to the Farplane. As everything starts to calm down, everyone starts cheering for the savior of the day, Maester Seymour Guado.

* * *

Yuna, Evan, Lulu, and Kimahri stand outside the stadium waiting for the others. Wakka, Ezriel, Vaed, Tidus, Tess, Auron, and Marcus walk out of the stadium and to the others. "You guys have any trouble?" Lulu asks them worriedly.

Ezriel scoffs and waves his hand dismissively. "Nothing we couldn't handle." Ezriel says nonchalantly before looking to Yuna. "Glad you made it back. We were really worried when the Al Bhed took you."

Tess looks to Yuna in surprise. "The Al Bhed kidnapped you too?"

"Too?" Evan exclaims in shock and worry. "You got kidnapped?" Tess nods going into the story of her time in the cafe, being captured by the Al Bhed, how she fought free, and how the others rescued her. Then she told them about what happened during the fiend attack on the stadium. At the end of the story, Evan lets out a low whistle. "And here I thought you left just to screw with me. But I'm glad you're alright."

Tess nods then looks to Lulu. "So what happened to you guys?" Lulu goes into the story about getting the ransom note from the Al Bhed Psyches, going to check on Yuna in the cafe, how Evan took out most of the Al Bhed and their machina by himself, the fight on the boat, and getting Yuna back. Tess looks at Evan skeptically. "You took on a dozen Al Bhed and their machina within a five minute span?" She asks disbelievingly.

Marcus snorts in amusement. "I believe it."

Evan smiles shyly before looking at Marcus curiously. "What are you doing in Luca anyway?"

Marcus taps Auron lightly on his chest with the back of his hand. "I met up with Auron about a week ago. He said he was waiting for Jecht's son, so I came with him to Luca."

Auron nods in agreement before looking to Tidus. "We need to talk privately, come." Auron says before walking off, Tidus on his heels.

Tess watches them go before looking back to Evan with a mocking smirk. "Guess what? Marcus is going to be entering the competition as well. Your chances of winning just dropped significantly."

Marcus raises an eyebrow at Tess questioningly. "What are you talking about? Evan has a better chance than either of us."

Tess laughs arrogantly before hooking her thumb at Evan. "He hasn't been able to beat me. Right now my record against him is forty-six wins and no losses."

Marcus looks at Tess for a long moment before looking at Evan disapprovingly. "Why the hell are you letting her beat you, idiot?"

Evan looks nervous while the others gawk back and forth between Evan and Marcus. "You…you told me not to let anything hurt her." Evan mumbles weakly.

Marcus slaps his hand on his forehead and looks up. "Give me the strength to deal with this moron." He prays before glaring back to Evan. "I meant keep her safe from fiends and others with intent to do harm to her, not lets your ass get kicked just to satisfy her ego."

Evan glares at Marcus, getting annoyed. "Well sorry, maybe you should have trained her instead of going off looking for fossils older than yourself. Though finding them had to be tough considering your age."

Marcus' eyebrow twitches in annoyance. "It looks like you got a long way to go before your man enough to take responsibility for your actions."

Evan grits his teeth, his anger rising. "Sorry that I wasn't raised in the dawn of time, like you. Tell me, how was going to school with father time?"

Marcus' fist clench as he takes a step toward Evan. "What was that?"

Evan takes a step forward, his fists clenched as well. "What? Your hearing-aid not working?"

Marcus takes another step forward. "No, I can't hear you over my foot being driven firmly up your ass!"

Evan laughs mockingly at him. "Give it your best shot you old bastard! Just don't come crying to me when you break a hip!"

Marcus growls and gets right in Evan's face. "You'll be the one crying when I'm through with you!"

Evan growls loudly at Marcus. "Cram it up your ass, old man!"

Lulu sighs and shakes her head dejectedly. "Twenty minutes together and they're already at each other's throats."

Vaed smiles at them. "They missed each other greatly."

Evan and Marcus glare at each other for several long moments. Then they both break into smiles and start laughing merrily before they hug. "Good to see you again, boy." Marcus says happily, patting Evan on the back.

Evan laughs and pats his back as well. "It's good to see you, too." Evan says before letting go of Marcus.

Marcus walks over to Lulu and hugs her as well. "Hey, Lu, you keeping these two in line?"

Lulu sighs in mock misery and hugs Marcus back. "It was a full time job keeping Tess in line. If Evan wouldn't have left then I'd probably go insane."

Marcus lets Lulu go before looking at her questioningly then at Evan. "You left Besaid? Why?"

Before Evan could respond though, Tess growls in annoyance. "Excuse me, can we get back to the part where you think Evan went easy on me?"

Marcus smirks at her. "There's no thinking about it. Evan was stronger than me when I left six years ago. He undoubtedly improved since then. And your fight against those Al Bhed, though impressive, was nowhere near what Evan could do."

Evan blushes in embarrassment and looks away. "Marcus, not now."

Marcus looks at Evan curiously before raising his hands in submission. "Alright." Marcus yawns and stretches. "Well, today just wore me out. Need all the rest I can get for tomorrow. Let's get rooms for the night."

Tess looks off where Tidus and Auron walked off. "You guys go ahead. I'm gonna go check on Tidus and Auron."

Vaed gets in front of Tess to stop her. "No more running off. You go with the others, I'll check on them." Vaed says before walking off while the others go towards the inn.

Tess lets out a heavy sigh of annoyance. "Fine!" She exclaims and walks with the others.  
Vaed walks unto he could see Tidus and Auron stand on the fifth dock. Auron was apparently waiting for Tidus to say something. Vaed turns to give them their privacy, but stops when Tidus starts yelling at Auron and hides behind a crate.

Tidus marches up to Auron and grabs him by his coat. "Don't just stand there! All of this is your fault! Gettin' swallowed by Sin! Ending up in Spira! Not being able to go back to Zanarkand! Everything! Everything!" Auron just watches Tidus for several moments before letting out a loud laugh.

Once Auron goes quiet again, Tidus lets go of Auron. "Who are you anyway? You knew my old man, didn't you?"

"Yeah." Auron says shortly and with a slight nod.

Tidus, finally glad to be getting answers, glares at Auron. "And you also knew Yuna's father? And Tess'?"

"Correct." Auron says, again being short with his answers.

Tidus glares at Auron, not believing him. "No way! There's no way. That's just impossible."

Auron scoffs slightly. "Nothing impossible about it. Jecht, Marcus, Braska, and I…Together we defeated Sin, ten years ago. Then I went to Zanarkand…Where I watched over you. So that one day I could bring you to Spira."

Tidus looks stunned by this. "Why did it have to be me?"

"Jecht asked me to." Auron says simply.

Tidus looks at Auron hopefully. "Is he alive?"

Auron looks out to sea, remaining silent for a moment. "Depends on what you mean by 'alive'. He is no longer human. But then…I felt something of Jecht there in that shell, couldn't you?" Auron turns to face Tidus again. "You must have felt him when you came into contact with Sin."

Tidus looks horrified. "It can't be…" He whispers in shock.

"Sin is Jecht." Auron says simply, staring hard at Tidus.

Tidus shakes his head, getting angry again. "No! That's ridiculous! No way! I don't believe you!"

Auron had expected that. "But it is the truth. You'll see for yourself. Come with me."

Tidus was feeling defiant. "If I say no?"

Auron shrugs nonchalantly. "Every story must have an ending."

Tidus growls in frustration. "I don't care about your stories!"

"I see. Sorry you feel that way." Auron grunts impatiently. "Fine, then. Come or don't come. It's your decision." Auron says while turning away.

Tidus glares at Auron, about to explode in anger. "What am I supposed to say? You tell me it's my decision! But I don't have a choice, do I? I have to go with you! I have to! You're the only one who can tell me what's going on anyways!" Tidus crouches, shaking with anger and confusion.

"Irritating, I know. Or are you afraid?" Auron asks before turning to Tidus and seeing him upset. He walks over to him and puts his hand on his shoulder. "It's alright."

Tidus keeps his eyes on the ground. "Auron? Will I ever go home? Back to Zanarkand?"  
Auron removes his hand and sighs.

"That's up to Jecht." Auron turns away to look back toward town. "I'm going to offer my services to Yuna. I'm sure Marcus has already did the same for Tess." Auron then smirks and looks towards Vaed's hiding place. "Unless you have any objections?"

Vaed walks out from the crate, his head bowed in thought and his eyes wide from all the information. "From all of that, what confuses me the most is that you weren't lying."

Auron raises an eyebrow, intrigued. "How do you know I wasn't?"

Vaed shrugs, still thinking while he talked. "I've always been able to tell when someone is lying. Been able to feel what other people are feeling, too. Right now, with all the information you've just given plus Tidus' feelings are making it hard to think."

Auron nods in understanding. "And what do you say to us joining you?"

Vaed looks up at Auron with a piercing stare, trying to will more information out of him. "Answer these questions and I will allow it. Lie to me, and I will strike you down where you stand. This is your one chance to walk away if you choose it."

Auron smirks and chuckles quietly. "As you wish, I will answer what I can honestly."

Vaed is silent for a moment while he gathers his thoughts. "How sure are you that Jecht is Sin?"

"I am certain of it." Auron answers truthfully and simply.

Vaed shakes his head, trying to clear it. "How did Jecht become Sin?"

"I do not know." Auron answers simply.

Vaed looks to Tidus for a moment before shifting his stare back to Auron. "You were in Tidus' Zanarkand?"

"Yes." Auron answers simply again.

Vaed's eye twitches as he processes the information. "Where is this Zanarkand or is it the Zanarkand we know?"

Auron sighs a little, showing his weariness. "It isn't our Zanarkand, and I don't know where that Zanarkand is."

"Marcus knows all of this as well?" Vaed asks, trying to think of other outlets to get the information if Auron started lying.

"He knows all that I know. If he knows more, I have no idea. He always did love his secrets." Auron says honestly.

Vaed couldn't help but smirk a little. "You have been honest with me. If you wouldn't mind answering some of my questions along the way, I have no problem with you joining us, Sir Auron." Vaed says with a respectful bow.

"I will consider what information I deem important enough to share and what to hide. But keep what you learn from me or Marcus a secret from the others." Auron says looking at Vaed murderously.

Vaed was a little taken back from that, but he nods. "I promise I won't share any information I get from you."

Auron nods before looking back to Tidus. "Let's go."

The three of them start heading back into town. Vaed smiles apologetically to Auron. "I apologize for my rudeness, but I needed to be sure whether or not I could trust you."

Auron nods in understanding. "I would have been concerned about your devotion if you didn't threaten me with death after that overhearing us." Vaed laughs at that as they reach the inn.

Outside are Yuna, Kimahri, and Tess, talking in hushed voices. Yuna seems to be trying to cheer up Tess, who looked upset. As Vaed, Auron, and Tidus approach, Vaed looks between the two. "What's going on?"

Yuna looks at Vaed, her expression pleading for help. "Tess just challenged Evan to a sparring match. He declined."

Vaed looks at Tess in confusion. "Okay…Why are you so upset about it? Wouldn't you have an opportunity to fight him tomorrow anyway?"

Tess sighs heavily and turns away, crossing her arms. "It's what dad and Evan said earlier. If Evan was taking it easy on me all this time, then I want to see how he fights for real." Tess' shoulders slump and she grinds her teeth. "To think he'd do that to me."

Yuna puts her hand on Tess' shoulder. "Come on, he said he didn't want to hurt you. He was thinking of you. That should be a good enough reason."

Tess turns on Yuna, her temper flaring. "But it isn't! I've lead myself to believe that I was the strongest fighter in Besaid! If he is stronger than me, then I've let myself get sloppy! I should be trying to surpass him!"

Vaed steps up and gets in front of Tess, separating her from Yuna. "Look, like I said, you'll find out tomorrow which one of you is truly stronger. There's no use getting worked up about it right now." Vaed says putting some authority in his voice. "Besides, we have more important matters to discuss." Vaed says turning to Auron and Tidus and nodding.

Auron steps up to Yuna. "Yuna, I wish to become your Guardian. Do you accept?"

Tess' eyes widen in shock and disbelief. "You're kidding me."

Auron looks to Tess, completely serious. "Marcus asked to be your Guardian, no?"

Tess quickly nods her head, still trying to wrap her head around all of this. "You and Dad want to join us?"

Auron raises an eyebrow challengingly his voice tinted with amusement. "You refuse?"

Yuna was completely caught off guard with that. "No! We are honored to have you. We accept. But may I ask why?"

"I promised Braska." Auron says his expression and voice going back to neutral.

Yuna was again caught off guard with that. "You promised my father?" Yuna then shakes her head to get her thoughts back on track. "Thank you, Sir Auron. You're welcome to join us."

"And…" Auron draws his arm back, pulling Tidus up to stand in front of him. "He comes too."

Tidus stumbles and laughs nervously. "Hi."

Tess looks like she's about to burst with giddiness. "He'll be joining my team."

"It matters not, as long as we're together." Auron lets out a quiet yawn. "I'm tired, I'm going to bed. Good night." Auron says before walking into the inn.

Tess practically jumps on Tidus. "Yes! I knew you'd join!"

Vaed laughs and starts walking past them. "Good, might give me some time to myself. Watching you is tiring."

Tess lets go of Tidus and glares at Vaed. "Just shut up!" She yells before marching off after him. Yuna and Tidus laugh at the two of them and follow them into the inn. They all go into their separate rooms.

* * *

Evan walks up to Yuna's door and knocks. Yuna opens the door and looks up at Evan in surprise. "Yes?"

Evan chuckles a little. "Tell me you didn't forget about us spending time together tonight?" Evan chastises teasingly.

Yuna blushes in embarrassment. "No, of course I didn't." Yuna lies quietly, the events of the day making her forget about saying she would.

Evan laughs and shakes his head in disbelief. "Sure you didn't. I figured since it's the Maesters Festival, we could go enjoy it a little bit."

Yuna smiles and nods before stepping into the hall and closing her door. "Alright, let's go."

Evan and Yuna leave the inn and head towards the festival, the stars shining brightly through the night and the streets of Luca lit with torches. The first thing they saw was a bouncing ball game with about twenty different cups, fifteen were white, four were black, and one was red. Evan and Yuna step up to it watch some people try to bounce their ball into the red cup, though most of them got it into the white cups. A variety of prices are hanging on the wall of the booth, mostly small prizes with only a few big prizes.

"So if you get it in the white cups, you don't win anything. If you get it in the black cups you win a small prize. And if you get it in the red cup you get a big prize." Yuna says thoughtfully.

Evan puts down some Gil and smirks as he gets handed the ball. "Sounds simple enough." He says as he tosses the ball. It bounces on the cups for a moment before sinking into a white one. "Wow, it's harder than it looks." Evan says scratching his head before putting some more Gil and handing the ball to Yuna. "Give it a shot."

Yuna takes the ball and looks around the table. She tosses it to an unusual spot on the board. The ball bounces on the cups before sinking into a black cup. "Wow." Evan says, impressed. A bell rings and the man behind the booth pulls out a fake flower for Yuna. She takes it and bows to him before some other patrons came to take their turn.

They continue on to the next booth and see a cup shuffling game. Evan watches the game closely and when the ball handler stops the cups, he whispers to Yuna. "Left cup." The man playing the game points to the middle cup, seemingly confident in his choice, but the ball handler lifts the middle cup, showing it was empty before lifting up the left cup, showing the ball there.

Evan walks up and puts down some Gil. "Alright, let's do this." Evan says placing his hands on the table while he stares at the cups. The ball handler shows the ball under the left cup before placing the cup over it and shuffling the cups with dazzling speed.

The ball handler stops and crosses his arms, confident that Evan couldn't possibly know. Evan smirks knowingly and points to the right up. "That's the one you want me to think it's under, but it's under the center cup." The ball handler looked mystified, but picks up the center cup, showing the ball.

Evan smirks victoriously before pointing to the blank sphere prize. "That one." The ball handler gives the sphere to Evan and starts the game again for someone else.

Yuna looked happy that Evan won. "How'd you find out? I thought it was under the right one, too."

Evan smirks and nods to the ball handler. "He palms the ball in the beginning, making you follow the starting cup. But while you're eyes are on the cup, he replaces the ball under another cup and then shuffles them around. So I just waited until I saw him release the ball and followed it. Simple, if you know what you're looking for." Evan says confidently.

Yuna observes Evan closely for a moment. "You really have changed. I know we really haven't spent that much time together since you left, but now I see it."

Evan looks scared and nervous for a moment before blushing and looking away. "Oh?"

Yuna smiles brightly and steps in front of Evan so he could see her. "It's not a bad thing, you know. You seem more confident about yourself. Like this is what normal is for you, not the awkward way you were before."

Evan looked confused by that. "Um…thank you?"

Yuna laughs and starts pulling Evan by the arm further down the festival. "It's a good thing, that's what I'm saying." Yuna says before stopping in front of a hammer and bell game.

Everyone that tried the game only managed to get the weight half way up to the bell. Even guys who were built with massive muscle couldn't get it. Yuna puts down some Gil and takes the hammer. Yuna swings the hammer down, only making the weight bounce a few inches up. The second swing wasn't much better. The third swing, Yuna used all her strength and brought the weight up a fourth of the way.

Yuna, breathing heavily, puts the hammer down. "That is hard."

Evan puts down some Gil and takes the hammer. He looks from the hammer to the plate that sends the weight up, then up to the bell. After a moment, he swings the hammer down and makes the weight only go up half way. Evan looks at the whole thing again before he swings again, this time, only making the weight go up three-fourths of the way up.

The guy running the booth laughs merrily. "Close, but stronger men have yet to ring the bell. You may not be strong enough to get it."

Evan eye twitches in annoyance before he takes a calming breath. "You can do it." Yuna cheers for him. Evan looks at Yuna curiously then smiling and nodding in agreement.

This time Evan takes the hammer into one hand, looking at the guy casually. He swings the hammer down, this time the hammer shoots up, rings the bell, and crashes it off the top. The weight and the bell fall down to the ground right where the weight used to rest. Everyone around the game looks at the bell and weight then at Evan with comically wide eyes of shock.

Evan laughs at them before pointing to a pretty blue and green beaded necklace on the prize stand. "I believe I hit the bell. I'll take that." Evan says merrily. The guy, still gawking at Evan, takes the necklace off the stand and hands it to him.

Evan turns to see Yuna looking at him in surprise, but not as much as everyone else. "Hey, you told me I could do it." Evan says before unclasping the necklace and holding it out.

Yuna comes out of her shock and blushes a little before turning around and holding up her hair. Evan brings the necklace in front of her and clasps it around her neck. When Evan was down, Yuna lets down her hair and looks at the necklace while turning to Evan. "Thank you."

Evan smiles and then starts hearing some music coming from further down. Evan turns and sees people dancing to a band playing music. Evan looks to Yuna and nods towards it. "Care to dance?"

Yuna looks at the dancing people then back to Evan, eyes shining in the street lights. "Alright."

As they approach, the music changes to a more slow song. They both appear hesitant at first because of the change in tone, but then they walk onto the dance floor. They turn to face each other, Evan, taking Yuna's hand and placing his other hand on her hip while standing close to her. Yuna places her free hand on Evan's hip and together they start dancing.

They turn together with the beat of the song, dancing along with everyone else and the music. They stare into each other's eyes as they dance, blushing slightly. They felt slightly awkward, but also comfortable with each other as they dance. When the song ends, they stop moving, but remain as they were, holding hands, free hands on the other's hip, and staring into each other's eyes.

Once the song was over, some of the people leave the dance floor talking about how the fireworks were about to start. Evan looks at them then back to Yuna. "Let's go get a good spot for the fireworks." Evan suggests, finally letting go of Yuna.

Yuna looked slightly disappointed, but put on a smile quickly to cover it. "Alright, where to?"

Evan takes her hand and starts leading her away from the festival and towards the docks. Once there, they sit down on the edge of the dock just as the fireworks start. They both look up at them, dazzled by the show. Unconsciously, their hands reach toward each other and hold onto the other while the firework show goes on.

Twenty minutes go by and the firework show starts up its finale. Despite all the explosions from the fireworks, Yuna's head rests on Evan's shoulder and she falls asleep, exhausted from the day's events and snoring a little. Evan looks down at Yuna and chuckles quietly before noticing that they were holding hands. He blushes heavily then looks up to watch the rest of the finale.

As the last of the fireworks finish, the night goes quiet again. Evan looks to Yuna and, not having the heart to wake her, picks her up. Silently, he makes his way through Luca back to the inn. Once inside, Evan takes Yuna to her room and puts her in bed.

Evan covers her up and looks down on Yuna's sleeping form. "Thank you for one last good day." Evan gulps heavily and lets out a quiet sigh. "Goodbye, Yuna." Evan whispers before putting an envelope on her end table, putting out the light, and walking out of her room.

Evan heads towards his room, but sees the light on in Lulu's room. He stops and stares at the door heavily for several long moments. "What're you still doing up?" Marcus asks from down the hall.

Evan looks to Marcus before looking to the floor. "I was just out at the festival with Yuna." Evan frowns and looks towards Lulu's door again. "We need to talk."

Marcus raises an eyebrow, noting how serious and worried Evan was looking. "About what?"

"About what happened to mom." Evan says before looking to Marcus with a look of utter misery. "About how I killed her."

Marcus' eyes widen in shock and comprehension. Marcus walks down the hall, waving for Evan to follow him. Evan does and they end up in Marcus' room. Marcus pulls out a cigarette and lights it before sitting on the bed. "Now why do you think you killed her?"

Evan glares at Marcus, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. "You know I'm not human, right? That's why you always told me never to tell anyone about my tail or what I could do. You made me hide what all I could do. You made me fear that no one would accept me if they knew all about me."

Marcus scoffs and waves his hand dismissively. "Sure you were a little weird, but you're human. And I made you do that because a lot of people could see what all I could do and considered me a freak." Marcus says, trying to play it off as nothing, but his shaking hands were diluting the illusion.

Evan stares at Marcus hard. "I turned into a giant ape when I looked at the full moon. I know because it happened again. And I know you know because you were with me when it happened all those years ago, it only makes sense that you saw me."

Marcus glares at Evan. "I told you not to look at the full moon, ever." Marcus says gruffly.

Evan slams his fist into the wall in anger. "That's not the point! You knew I could change into that monster! You knew what I could do! But you never told me! What? Didn't you think I could take it?" Evan yells at Marcus, making him flinch.

Marcus looks away in shame. "You didn't know what happened. You were a boy. How could I tell a four year old that he killed the closest thing he had to a mother?"

Suddenly, the door opens and Lulu walks in, slamming the door closed behind her, looking furious. She glares at Marcus. "You knew? You knew what killed my mother? Why didn't you say anything?"

Marcus looks to the floor, tears falling from his eyes. "I…What was I supposed to do?" Marcus asks pleadingly.

Lulu glares at Marcus then at Evan. "Care to explain what happened?"

Evan nods, a look of pure self-loathing etched on his face. "Marcus was taking me night fishing. I got excited that I caught a fish and fell off the boat. You know I don't know how to swim, and I was sinking. That was when I looked at the full moon. That's the last thing I remember about that night." Evan says sadly. "I've been scared to go into any water since." Evan says before looking to Marcus, curiously. "Care to fill in the blanks?"

Marcus looked miserable as well, but he nods. "You came back out of the water, except you were that giant ape. You knocked the boat to the shore, knocking me out for a bit. When I came to, I rushed back to the village. I saw you attacking the village and decided to draw you away." Marcus crushes his cigarette in his hand and drops it to the floor. "Once I got you away from the village, you went all out trying to kill me. I didn't want to kill you, but, at the time, I thought I didn't have a choice. I went in for the kill, but you jumped, and I only managed to cut off your tail. After that, you changed right back to normal. When you came to, I realized you had no recollection of what you did, so I couldn't hold you responsible for any damage you did. So I picked you up and took you back to the village." Marcus explains before going quiet.

"And when you came back, that's when you learned my mother died in the attack." Lulu says, still glaring at Marcus.

More tears escape Marcus' eyes. "When I learned that, that's when I realized I couldn't and wouldn't lose a second family. So I kept Evan's condition a secret, told everyone I defeated the monster and for everyone to stay inside during full moons." Marcus looks to Lulu pleadingly. "You can hate me all you want for keeping this a secret. I was trying to keep my family together. So hate me, do whatever you want to me. But please, don't blame your brother for something he couldn't control."

Lulu glares at Marcus and turns to look away. "You know, after all this time, I don't even remember my mother's face. I always thought something was off when I brought it up, because you would always get nervous and quickly change the subject. I really need to think about this." Lulu says uncertainly and walks out of the room.

Evan looks at the door for a moment before looking to Marcus. "She'll be fine. She's tough."

Marcus wipes his tears away. "What about you?"

Evan was silent for a moment before he just walks out of the room as well. Lulu was leaning against the wall across from the door. Evan looks at her before walking to her and falling to his knees. "I…I'm sorry. Please, forgive me."

Lulu looks down at Evan without an expression. "Did you really not know what you did when you changed into that monster?" Evan shakes his head, his eyes tightly closed, ready for any violence that Lulu might throw at him. Lulu sighs and turns to heads back towards her room. "I can't blame you. I want to, but I can't. You had no control of yourself. I'm going to bed." She says before entering her room and closing the door behind her.

Evan remains on his knees for a minute, staring after Lulu. He was expecting to get hit again. Hell, he wouldn't have been surprised if Lulu had tried to burn him to ashes. He knew this conversation wasn't over, but it would have to wait until later. Evan gets to his feet and walks towards his room, stopping again in front of Lulu's door, saying. "Goodbye, Lu." Evan then heads to his room and closes the door, getting some rest before the martial arts competition tomorrow. One of the biggest days of his life.

* * *

Author's Note:

One: I never really played Blitzball when I play Final Fantasy X, so sorry if my take on Blitzball is lax compared to other fanfics.

Two: I'm not much of a dancer, so the dance might look bland, but that's because I wasn't exactly sure about how to put it from my mind onto the page.

Three: To those wondering, the song playing while they were dancing in my head was My December by Linkin Park.

Four:I'm entering into the ninth and tenth chapter chapters next week and I haven't gotten a single review. Please guys, review and tell me how I'm doing. You're input, good or bad, helps me improve my writing skills. Let me know what you think or if you have any questions that I didn't adequately explained that might not come back up in later chapters. Please, you're input is appreciated greatly.

Until next week.

Legendsofwoe


	11. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: The Grand Prix**

The sun shines brightly the next morning. Even in the early hours of the morning the streets of Luca were swarming with people. The festival was still going on, but the main event for the day was the martial arts competition being held in the stadium.

At the inn, one by one, each of Yuna and Tess' Guardians walk out of their rooms until only Yuna was the only want still in her room. Finally Yuna walks out of her room and to the lobby, looking sad and confused while holding an open envelope in her hand.

Wakka smiles as Yuna approaches. "Hey, sleepyhead." He greets merrily. "'Bout time you woke up." Wakka says teasingly before noticing the envelope in one hand and a letter in the other. "What's that?"

Yuna holds the envelope out to Wakka, who takes it and checks its contents. "Hey, it's the tickets. Good thinking Yuna."

Yuna shakes her head, looking at the letter. "It wasn't me. Evan got them. He also left a note." Yuna explains sadly before handing Wakka the note who reads it out loud.

**Today is probably going to be the last day you'll want to see me. Take these tickets as an explanation and an apology.**

**Evan.**

Wakka looks lowers the letter and looks around at everyone. "What's he going on about?" Wakka asks worriedly.

Everyone was silent though, not knowing what was going on. "Enough." Auron says turning towards the door. "We're not going to find out standing here. Let us go and see for ourselves." Auron says walking out of the inn, everyone following behind him.

As they walk through the street, Tidus looks around at the crowds of people who were all heading towards the stadium. "This thing's as popular as Blitzball." Tidus states offhandedly.

Wakka nods in agreement. "Besides Blitzball, the martial arts competition is Spira's only other form of entertainment. But the martial arts competition is only held once a year, so it's a bigger deal, ya?"

Tidus nods in understanding. "But why have the competition? I mean, what's the point? To see someone get beat up?"

Wakka smirks at Tidus. "It gives people who love to fight a goal to attain. We all have our reasons to fight. This is a place to see how you compare with other fighters in the world without the worry of getting seriously injured, ya?"

Yuna nods in agreement and smiles at Tidus. "It gives the people of Spira hope, as well."

Tidus looks to Yuna with a raised eyebrow. "People knocking the snot out of other people give people hope?"

Yuna nods again and looks towards the stadium. "To see so many fighters still exist in the world. It's inspiring to know that even with all the world's problems that people can still fight for something other than survival."

Tidus looks down, thoughtful for several minutes. "How many people enter?"

"They only show the top sixteen fighters, but usually anywhere from fifty to a hundred plus people show up for the preliminaries." Ezriel says, drawing confused looks from everyone.

"How in the world do you know that?" Wakka asks the question on everyone else's mind.

Vaed laughs humorously. "We entered the tournament two years ago."

Ezriel nods with a disappointed frown. "Seventy-eight people entered that year, so I'd imagine somewhere around that number enter every year."

Wakka looks at Ezriel and Vaed curiously. "How do they do the prelims?"

"They round everyone into sixteen groups to fight in battle royal type fights. The winner of each group advances to the tournament. No one in those groups can use weapons or magic. If anyone does they are disqualified." Vaed explains helpfully.

Yuna looked at them, awestruck at imagining the fights. "How'd you two do?"

Ezriel sighs miserably. "Me and Vaed were put in the same group as Savailo. So naturally we lost."

Tidus had been hearing that name throughout the crowd as they walked. "Who is Savailo?"

"The winner of the last four tournaments, and considering there have only been four of them, it's easy to say that he's probably the strongest fighter in Spira." Vaed explains to Tidus.

Wakka crosses his arms and looks up at the clear sky. "They say he's never lost a fight in his entire life."

Tidus thought about that, in his life he'd been in plenty of fights. He's won some of them and lost some of them. He couldn't believe someone could go their entire life without losing. "Well, he can't possibly be that good."

Ezriel narrows his eyes threateningly at Tidus. "Just wait and see, Newbie. You'll understand soon enough."

The group approaches the stadium, which is packed with people. They get stopped at the entranceway by an usher asking for tickets. Yuna gives him their tickets and they get escorted to their seats. As they enter, with the exception of Vaed and Ezriel, they gasp at the drastic changes to the stadium.

At the bottom of the arena is a large grassy area with a large square concrete tiled stage in the middle of it. The stage is five foot high and fifty square feet long. Directly across from the V.I.P. booth, on the ground, is a large open doorway with benches, already filled with people. A tiled pathway lies on the ground leading from the back room to the stage where a set of stairs were set to the stage. Right outside of the back room is two people in white and green kimonos filling in the tournament brackets and along each of the walls is another man in white and green kimonos, all in a kneeling position with a slightly visible shield around them.

"Wow!" Tidus exclaims in wonder as he looks over the changes made to the arena from yesterday to today. He also notices a transparent shield that covers the audience from the arena.

The group follows their escort through the stands and is shown to their seats. They are seated in the middle between the V.I.P. booth and the competitor entrance to the ring. Their escort bows to them then rushes off to help the next people waiting to be seated. There are three seats that remain open beside the group as the arena is filled.

Yuna looks around and smiles. "I can't believe how packed it is here." I hope it starts soon."

* * *

In the back room are the sixteen fighters taking place in the tournament. There are nine humans, three Ronso, three Al Bhed, and one Guado in all. Evan, Marcus, and Tess stand near an enormous table of food next to another man.

The man is five-feet nine inches tall, with a slim but well muscled build and is twenty-four years old. He has spiky black hair that lays in the front and sides going down to his ears, but the back sticks straight into the air and he has dark brown eyes. He wears an open black leather vest over his naked torso, camouflage pants held up by a brown furry belt, and dark grey and black shoes.

As Evan approached the table and the man, deep within Evan, Ultima stirred with interest, making him look at the man curiously, the man mirroring the gesture with Evan. _"What was that about?"_ Evan thinks towards Ultima.

Ultima chuckles darkly. _"You'll see soon enough."_ He responded vaguely.

Evan lets out a heavy sigh at Ultima's cryptic remark before smiling at the man. "This food for everyone?"

The man nods then starts picking up several items from the table and stuffing them into his mouth. Marcus chuckles at the man. "Great, another person who eats like you, boy."

The man looks at Marcus then Tess before pointing to the table. "You don't want anything?"

Evan looks at his sister and foster-father then back at the man, aghast. "Dude, don't ask that! There'll be less for us!" Evan says before starting to chow down.

The man smirks at Evan in approval. "I like the way you think." He holds out his hand to Evan. "Name's Savailo Dozu, winner of group six."

Evan looks at the hand, then the food in his hand before scarfing it down in a hurry. Evan takes his hand and shakes it. "Evan Umera, winner of group ten. The fossil is Marcus Amari, winner of group fifteen, and the talking cleavage is Tess Amari, winner of group twelve."

Tess slaps Evan on the back of his head. "Talking cleavage? Really?" Tess says indignantly.

Marcus and Savailo laugh at Evan and Tess. Once they quiet down Savailo nods to Tess and Marcus. "This will be the first time that father and daughter have made it to the finals. I hope to see you do well."

Evan, who was eating again, looks to Savailo. "Please tell me you have more of this. I don't think it'll be enough."

Savailo laughs and looks to Marcus and Tess. "I'm actually glad someone else is enjoying the spread. No one ever eats it, so they mainly put it out for me."

Tess nods, looking at Evan stuffing his face with disgust. "That's probably because no one really wants to eat so much before a big fight."

Evan blinks at Tess then looks to Savailo in mock disapproval. "Do you see what I have to deal with?"

Savailo nods sympathetically before looking at one of the helpers. "You might want to get the extras. We're not even close to full yet."

* * *

After everyone was seated and the final preparations were completed another man in a green and white kimono walks out from the back room with a microphone and a clipboard. He walks up the path to the stage and onto it.

Yuna points to the man excitedly. "It's starting!"

Ezriel looks around to the empty seats then around the arena. "Looks like they all made it in. They'd have shown up by now if they haven't."

Once at the ring's center, he raises the microphone to his lips. "Attention ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the fifth annual Spiran Martial Arts League's Grand Prix!" The crowd cheers at him. "My name is Anaki and I will be the announcer for the tournament." Anaki introduces and bows to the crowd.

"That's right, folks today is a special day! It marks the fifth anniversary of the tournament and we're also celebrating both Maesters day and Grand Maester Mika's fiftieth year in office!" Bobba says through the loud speakers. "And there's the man himself with the other four Maesters of Yevon along with several of the tournament's sponsors!"

The Maesters and several other people in the V.I.P. box stand as the crowd applauds them and they give the prayer gesture in return before sitting back down. "Ladies and gentlemen, to tell you all about the tournament's history please welcome the founder of the Spiran Martial Arts League and four-time Grand Prix champion, Savailo Dozu!" Anaki announces, pointing his hand towards the back room.

Savailo comes walking out of the back and into the ring. Tidus looks at Savailo, looking disappointed. "For someone who claims to be undefeated, he sure looks smaller than I imagined." Ezriel elbows him in the ribs and shushes him before turning his attention back to the ring.

Anaki hands Savailo the microphone. Savailo brings the microphone up to his mouth and clears his throat. "I founded the Spiran Martial Arts League seven years ago. It has been a firm belief of mine that fighting isn't just a way to settle disputes and defend yourself in a crisis. To me, it is a way of life. The thrill of fighting against opponents who were as strong as or possibly stronger than you gives life so much more meaning."

"And as I traveled the world, finding new fighters, overcoming more challenges, and setting new goals, I found out that I wasn't the only one who felt this way. These individuals joined my clan and together we fought with each other, always making ourselves stronger. It was because of these individuals that the Grand Prix was formed. Once a year, the strongest fighters would congregate here to see who the best fighter within all of Spira is. Today is the fifth birthday of this tournament, the crown jewel of all fighters. May the best fighter win." Savailo say passionately, getting wild applause from the audience before handing the microphone back to Anaki and leaving the ring.

Once Savailo was back in the backroom, Anaki raises the microphone to his mouth again. "Before we begin, allow me to explain the rules to you. First, if any part of your body touches anything besides the stage, you are declared the loser by ring out."

"Second, if you're on the floor for more than ten seconds, you are declared the loser by knockout."

"Third, if you give up, you are the loser by submission." Anaki says while looking at his clipboard.

"All weapons, armor, and items are permitted, though healing magic and items are prohibited. If you use any healing magic or item, you are disqualified and declared the loser of the match. And lastly, no outside help is permitted. If someone interferes with the match, the one the person is helping will be disqualified and declared the loser of the match."

"Along with myself, there are four judges stationed around the arena who have the authority to call a match if any of the terms have been reached. They will also act as impartial judges should a call be disputed." Anaki finishes and looks back to the backroom to see if all the preparations were truly complete.

"Now with the rules stated, let's get to the action. Anaki, is everything ready for the first match?" Bobba asks the announcer.

Anaki gets the okay signal from the other helper then turns back to the crowd. "Yes, Bobba, everything is all set. Would Artemis Togashi and Kurik Ronso please report to the stage?" Anaki asks, taking his leave of the ring as two people walk out from the back room.

Artemis Togashi is five-feet nine inches tall with an average build and looks in his twenties. He wears a full-body dark grey diving suit with tinted goggles over his eyes and dark grey shoes. A black cloak flows from his shoulders down to his knees, covering his arms completely. Two swords rested on his hip as well.

Kurik Ronso is nine-feet seven inches tall, built like a brick house, and white hair that goes down to his shoulders in the back and looks to be in his late twenties early thirties. He wears a closed black vest over his naked torso and white martial arts pants with a red sash around his waist. His hands, up to his wrists, and feet, up to his ankles are wrapped in white tape.

Tidus looks at the Ronso with wide unbelieving eyes. "That Savailo guy beat this Ronso? No way! How can anyone fight that monster?"

Ezriel nods in agreement, his eyes also wide in disbelief. "Kurik can't be full Ronso! He has to be part Behemoth! I didn't know Ronso could be so big!"

"Unfortunately for our audience, Artemis Togashi is an Al Bhed and thus has not told us where he is from or his past, but his history in the Grand Prix is formidable to any other. In the first Grand Prix he made it all the way to the semi-finals, almost claiming victory over the current champion. However, Kurik Ronso is from the capitol city of Bevelle and is the son of Maester Kelk. Last year he made it to the final match where he lost to the current champion." Bobba announces as Artemis and Kelk enter the ring and walk to its center.

"Let the first match begin!" Anaki calls out, beginning the match.

Artemis quickly draws his swords, revealing he is wearing white gloves, and rushes Kurik. Artemis starts swinging his swords at Kurik, trying to use his speed to his advantage. Kurik, however, was moving just as quick as Artemis, despite his size. Artemis closes in quickly and brings his swords down, trying to trip the Ronso, but the swords bounce off the tape.

Kurik raises his foot and stomps down on the swords, snapping them like twigs. "You know, most people think someone of my size cannot move so fast, or possibly want to use armor. Luckily I use these thoughts to my advantage." Kurik says in a deep sophisticated voice unlike that of most Ronso. "But now that you don't have swords you'll be easy to overcome." Kurik says smugly.

Kurik quickly brings his arm in and back hands Artemis away, showing his strength as well. Artemis lands on his feet and drives his swords into the floor. "You are just like everyone else then, you think you take away my swords that you can take me out." Blue light shines from the swords then dissipates. When Artemis draws his swords out of the floor, they are whole again. "But you underestimated my abilities."

Artemis rushes Kurik quickly again, bringing his swords through various horizontal and vertical swings. Kurik, despite his size, manages to deflect or avoid most of the blows, walking backwards through the onslaught. When they were close to the edge of the ring, Kurik stops dead, and when Artemis swung with his swords, he grabs both of them with his bandaged hands. Kurik kicks Artemis in the stomach, making him let go of the swords and sending him back several feet.

Kurik throws the swords out of bounds and gets into a fighting stance. "Don't have your magic swords anymore. Now what will you do?" Artemis slowly gets to his feet and gets into a fighting stance where his palms are facing Kurik. Kurik sees transmutation circles on the gloves and smirks knowingly.

"Using Alchemy in a martial arts tournament? That's a bold move, friend. I didn't know that Alchemy could have combative uses." Kurik says mildly impressed.

Artemis smiles appreciatively to Kurik. "Whatever can give one an edge should be used." Artemis motions for Kurik to come at him.

Kurik gets into a charging stance and starts running at Artemis like a bulldozer. Artemis quickly slaps his palms on the ground and tries to make a cage around Kurik. Kurik jumps, using one of the spokes to give him a boost. Kurik flips in mid-air and comes crashing down on the unsuspecting Artemis with both fists to his shoulders.

Artemis' head bounces off the concrete and he remains on the ground. Anaki walks to get a clear view. "One…two…three…four…five…six…seven…eight…nine…ten! The winner of match one, by knockout, is Kurik Ronso!" Anaki announces as he gets onto the ring and holds up Kurik's hand, who was receiving wild applause from the crowd.

"Wow, that Ronso isn't just big and strong. He's fast and agile, too. That makes for a troubling matchup." Vaed says, mildly impressed.

Two stage hands come out with a stretcher, put Artemis on it, and they take him to the back room, Kurik following behind him. Anaki, still on the ring, looks at his clipboard. "Now for our next competitors, would Quinn Toriyama and Savailo Dozu please report to the stage?" Anaki asks and leaves the ring as Savailo comes back out with Quinn walking beside him.

Quinn Toriyama stands at five-feet, three inches with a small muscled build, close cropped raven black hair, and purple eyes and is seventeen years old. He wears a dark blue and light blue stripped long-sleeve shirt, tan slacks with a pouch around his right thigh. On his hands are tan fingerless leather gloves.  
"Quinn is a Commander in the Bevelle Palace Guard. In the first Grand Prix, he made it all the way to the finals against Savailo. Now he gets his rematch in the opening round against the reigning champion. Savailo is truly a man who doesn't need an introduction. He's the Commander of the Luca Crusaders. He has won every Grand Prix thus far, and he doesn't show any signs of letting that streak go." Jimma says giving the audience some back story.

"This guy better be good, 'cause if he expects to beat someone who could beat that Kurik Ronso he'll have to be a lot more impressing." Wakka says to the others, who all nod in agreement.

Quinn and Savailo walk into the ring and stands at its center. Quinn turns towards the V.I.P. booth and does the prayer gesture to the Maesters before turning his attention back to Savailo. "Let the second match begin!" Anaki calls out, beginning the fight.

Quinn crosses his fingers in a cross in front of him. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He cries out, suddenly being surrounded by smoke. When the smoke clears there are five Quinns standing on the ring. Together they rush towards Savailo in different directions, hoping to box him in.

Savailo smirks impressively towards the five Quinns and gets into a defensive stance as they close in on him. The first Quinn reaches Savailo and throws a full force punch for Savailo's fac. When it should have made contact, the fist just passes right through Savailo like he was an illusion. "What?" All five Quinns cry out in shocked unison.

The first Quinn observes Savailo and notices that it's slightly transparent. "An after image?" He says before turning and seeing twenty similar images of Savailo all around the ring. "He's faster than before. A lot faster."

All five Quinns look around, trying to find out which of the Savailos was the real one. Quinn growls in annoyance and all five Quinns rush forward to attack each of the after images. But all of them only pass right through other illusions.

All the Savailos disappear, and suddenly Savailo appears behind the rear-most Quinn, driving his hand into his kidney. The Quinn gasps for breath and disappears in a puff of smoke. Through the smoke, four fists emerge heading for Savailo, only to pass through another after image. They all immediately put their backs together and start doing hand gestures quickly.

Not quickly enough though, Savailo appears in front of one of the Quinns and drives his fist into his face, making him disappear in another puff of smoke. Savailo continues the punch before the others could react and punches the Quinn directly behind the one he just made disappear on the back of his head, making him disappear in another puff of smoke. Savailo then brings his left hand up and smacks it against the Quinn to his left with enough force to make him disappear if he was a shadow clone, but this one was the real Quinn and he got knocked forward into a roll.

Savailo smirks in satisfaction at finding the real Quinn. Savailo brings his left knee up and kicks it back, mule-kicking the other Quinn before rushing at the Quinn he knocked forward. Savailo, easily catching up with that Quinn starts to bring his fist down, but before he could that Quinn disappears in a puff of smoke. Savailo's eyes widen at being tricked and turns, seeing the Quinn his mule-kicked throw a punch.

Savailo, confident that he could dodge the punch easily, stayed in place until the last possible second. But Quinn's fist connects with Savailo's face with enough force to send him flying towards the edge of the ring. Savailo, completely confused by how he got caught off guard, lands on his feet just before the edge of the ring. Savailo studies Quinn and wipes the spit from his chin. "Well, you've definitely improved. How the hell did you get your arm to extend at the last second?"

Quinn laughs and rubs his back where Savailo kicked him. "Trade secret, sorry. Maybe after I beat you I'll tell you." Quinn says starting to do gestures quickly. "Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" Quinn yells before taking a huge breath in and shooting out a very large fireball at Savailo.

Savailo's eyes widen at the display, but he quickly dodges to the side, avoiding the fireball. Only to see Quinn coming at him with another punch aimed at Savailo's face. Savailo, caught off-guard again, couldn't simply get out of the way, and chose to close his eyes. Just before the punch would have connected, Savailo's hand comes up and catches Quinn's by the wrist and drives his fist into Quinn's stomach.

The wind gets knocked out of Quinn and Savailo uses the opportunity, and the distance to the outside of the ring, to throw Quinn out of bounds. Anaki comes over to Quinn and points to Savailo. "Winner of the second match, by ring out, is Savailo Dozu!" Anaki announces to deafening applause.

Savailo jumps out of the ring and helps Quinn to his feet. "How did you block that last punch?" Quinn asks as Savailo starts helping him to the back room.

"It took me a moment to figure out, but it was your shirt. It gave the optical illusion that you're reach was shorter than it was. I got to hand it to you, with your strength, it was a clever trick. But it was your fireball attack that did you in. I closed my eyes, but I still saw the brightness of the flames. Your fist was outlined as it got closer, so I was able to see the attack coming." Savailo explains to him, victoriously. "Better luck next time though."

"That was incredible! I didn't know anyone could do anything like that!" Yuna says in amazement.

Auron actually cracks a smile. "Just wait. It'll only get more interesting from here."

Savailo and Quinn make it into the back room as Anaki walks onto the ring again. "Would Noburo Daisuke and Amar Guado please report to the stage?" Anaki asks and exits the ring as Noburo and Amar come out from the back room.

Amar Guado is six-foot tall and built like a normal Guado, with longer limbs, oversized hands, prominent veins on his face, and green hair and eyes and is in his twenties. He wears the normal uniform for a Guado guard. The only change from a normal Guado guard was the two large ceramic gourds he has strapped to his back with large corks in them.

Noburo Daisuke was familiar with two of the people in the group. "So the Al Bhed that was responsible for Tess' kidnapping entered the tournament." Auron says with a scoff.

"Kick his ass, Amar!" Tidus yells at the top of his lungs to the Guado.

Ezriel turns to Vaed, inquiringly. "What can this clown do?"

Vaed shrugs and watches Noburo closely. "We didn't really give him a chance to demonstrate. We took him out as soon as we arrived. But it looked like he could control fire at will."

Ezriel blinks several times before looking back at the competitors. "I hope Amar can do something against that. Fire is hard to overcome."

Bobba comes back over the loud speakers. "Noburo Daisuke is another Al Bhed competitor that has refused to give any relevant information on. And since this is his first tournament, we have no idea what capabilities he has. Amar Guado is another new comer from Guadosalam. He is one of the personal guards of our newest Maester, Maester Seymour. So that should tell you his abilities should be impressive.

Noburo and Amar walk onto the ring, Amar follows Quinn's example and gives the Maesters a prayer gesture before he faces Noburo again. "Let the third match begin!" Anaki calls out.

The cork pops off of one of the gourds and two torrents of water that matches Amar's body movements shoots right at Noburo. Noburo throws two punches that shoot fireballs at the water, turning it into steam. Amar clenches his fists then throws them open and forward. The steam quickly turns into ice shards and shoot at Noburo.

Noburo breaths in, the index and middle fingers of both hands sliding from his stomach up to his throat, then he releases the breath along with a torrent of fire. The ice melts and falls to the floor in puddles of water. Noburo quickly spins around, bringing up his leg for a kick, jumping up and kicking with his other leg, and throwing both fists forward. Streams of fire shot out of each of his limbs, but Amar quickly rises up his hands up in quick succession, water from the puddles rises and blocks the fire.

Amar quickly pops the cork off of the other gourd and its entire contents pour out, following his movements, and shoots forward towards the off balance Noburo. The water surrounds Noburo in a sphere, then freezes. Amar starts gesturing again and the sphere of ice lifts off the floor and starts moving towards the edge of the ring. Right before the sphere would go out of bounds it begins to melt.

Suddenly the sphere explodes and Noburo kicks his feet towards Amar, shooting a huge blast of fire. Amar, no having any water near him, quickly runs out of the way. Noburo lands, making circles with his arms while his index and middle fingers were outstretched. Lightning follows the path of his fingers, before he points his fingers at Amar.

Lightning shoots out of his hands with a loud crash of thunder and hits Amar square in the chest, but also shocking Noburo since he was drenched. Amar shoots back several feet and lands on his back, shattering his gourds with a smoking from the wound on his chest. Noburo was twitching and shivering violently, trying to remain on his feet. Amar tries to sit up, but he falls right back on floor and groans painfully.

"Did that guy just shoot freaking lightning out of his fingers?" Tess says in amazement.

Evan's eyes were wide in surprise. "That…is definitely something new." Evan says appreciatively.

"One…two…three…four…five…" Anaki counts from the grass. Amar tries again to sit up, but his body jerks violently and he lies back down.

Noburo continues to shake, but looks to Amar in sympathy. "Cdyo tufh. Oui fuh'd pa ypma du suja vun y frema."

"Six…seven…eight…nine…ten!" Anaki announces, getting onto the ring to hold up Noburo's hand. "Winner of match three, by knock out, Noburo Daisuke!" This time the crowd booed for him, but Noburo didn't seem to care as he helped the incoming stage hands take Amar back to the back.

"Looks like controlling that lightning took a lot out of him." Tess says, hopefully.

Evan shakes his head and looks at the two fighters. "No, he was soaking wet. Since water is a good conductor of electricity I'm guessing that when he was channeling the lightning, the electricity was being drawn into the rest of his body while he was trying to direct it. Lightning is a force to be reckoned with."

Anaki holds up his clipboard. "Would Tess Amari and Barthello Toshiro please report to the stage?" Anaki asks while he exits the ring.

Tess smiles at Marcus and Evan. "Well, wish me luck." She says and steps out onto the concrete path. Tess and Barthello walk out of the back and head towards the ring to wild applause from the audience.

"Here's something for the record books, Bobba. Tess Amari is a Summoner from the Isle of Besaid. This is her first time entering the Grand Prix and she made it all the way to the tournament stage. But there are no Aeons allowed in this tournament since they are listed as outside help. But this marks the first time in the Grand Prix's history that a Summoner has ever entered." Jimma explains out of the loudspeaker to the audience.

"Is that right, Jimma? Well, folks, let's hear it for the proud young lady from Besaid!" Bobba exclaims, making the crowd cheer louder for her.

"That's the spirit, folks. Now our other competitor, Barthello Toshiro, ironically enough, is a Guardian to another Summoner. Barthello is from Kilika Island and the Guardian to Lady Dona. This might be his first Grand Prix, but with a build like his, he's sure to go far." Jimma finishes as Tess and Barthello walk onto the ring.

"Get that big oaf, Tess!" Tidus screams out towards Tess.

Tess and Barthello meet in the middle and face each other. "Let the fourth match begin!" Anaki calls out, beginning the match.

Barthello towers over Tess and pats his stomach, smirking confidently. "Look, folks! Barthello is offering Tess a free shot! What a gentlemen!" Bobba says with a laugh.

Tess glares at Barthello, her eye twitching before she lets on a wild smirk. She cracks her knuckles and brings her arm back. She shoots it forward, driving it into Barthello's gut. Before Barthello could even register what he was feeling, he was sent flying backwards from the force of the punch.

By the time Barthello was flying over the edge of the ring, the pain set it and he coughs up some blood. That's when his back hit the concrete wall with enough force to crack it before sliding down to the grassy floor. The crowd was entirely silent, completely amazed by the display of strength.

The only one not silent was Anaki. "Winner of match four, by ring out, Tess Amari!" Anaki calls out to the audience.

The audience is still stunned by what they see before they start unfreezing gradually start cheering wildly for Tess. "Simply amazing! Not only did Lady Tess completely shock us with that surprising show of strength. But she also just set a new record for the fastest match in the Grand Prix's history. Watch out for this one, Bobba, she'll be going far in this tournament." Jimma says as Tess and the team carrying Barthello's unconscious body head back into the back room.

"Yahoo!" Tidus yells out, throwing his arms up and jumping up and down. "That's how you do it!"

Anaki walks back onto the ring and reads off the next two names. "Would Rahab Mako and Kyri Toriyama please report to the stage?" Anaki asks before exiting the ring and Rahab and Kyri come out from the back.

Rahab Mako is five-feet, ten inches tall with a slim build and blue eyes with a shinning bald head and is twenty-eight years old. He wears a white cloak that flows from his shoulders over a white martial arts uniform with a red sash. In his right hand is an ornate staff as tall as he is.

Kyri Toriyama is five-feet, three inches tall with a small, slender, and busty build with purple eyes and shoulder-length raven black hair tied into a pony tail and twenty-one years old. She wears a black sports bra and black, red flaming short shorts, and red shoes. A katana is strapped to her waist.

"Rahab Mako is a nomad of the Calm Lands, and not much is known about him. But Kyri Toriyama is a different story. She is the second in command of the Luca Crusaders and the older sister of Quinn Toriyama." Bobba says over the loud speakers.

Rahab and Kyri walk onto the ring and face each other. "Let the fifth match begin!" Anaki announces, beginning the match.

Kyri's eyes glow, drawing Rahab's attention to them. Rahab's expression goes blank, and then goes horrified. Rahab grabs hold of his head, and screams in terror, running away from Kyri and falling out.

Anaki holds his hand out to Kyri. "Winner of match five, by ring out, Kyri Toriyama!" Anaki calls out, with a hesitant applause from the audience, who were unsure of what happened.

"Not sure what to say about that one, Jimma. It looked like Rahab was frightened just by Kyri's stare. Very weird." Bobba says, mystified.

Auron was intrigued by Kyri. "That wasn't just an ordinary stare. Something else was behind it."

Ezriel looks at Auron then back at Kyri. "You think? And here I thought Lulu's glare was intimidating."

Everyone was waiting for Lulu to say something, but she remained silent. Everyone looks to her, and sees that she's looking at the ring, deep in thought.

"Um…are you okay, Lu?" Wakka asks shaking Lulu slightly.

Lulu's eyes snap to everyone and she raises an eyebrow. "What?"

Yuna looks at Lulu in concern. "Are you okay?"

Lulu looks back to the ring and shrugs. "I'm sorry, I got a lot on my mind right now." Lulu says before going silent again.

Stage hands took the still terrified Rahab to the back with Kyri following them as Anaki gets back onto the ring. "Would Evan Umera and Biran Ronso please report to the stage?" Anaki says walking off the ring as Evan and Biran come walking out of the back.

"Evan Umera is a blacksmith from the Isle of Besaid and is the foster brother of Tess Amari, but he isn't a Guardian. He is another new comer to the tournament, so we don't know all that much about him. Biran Ronso is from Mt. Gagazet and one of the greatest of Ronso warriors." Jimma announces over the loudspeakers.

Yuna gets to her feet and cheers with the audience. "Go Evan! Do your best!"

Evan and Biran enter the ring and face each other with glares directed at the other. "Let the sixth match begin!" Anaki calls out, beginning the match.

Biran cracks his knuckles threateningly. "Biran will crush little man! Biran leave nothing left!" Biran exclaims before rushing at Evan, with his left fist cocked back. Biran throws the punch and it slams right onto Evan's right cheek.

Evan doesn't move or look affected at all. "Is that it?" Evan asks in a bored tone. Evan grabs Biran's wrist and twists it painfully away from his face. "Biran weak Ronso." Evan says in his best impersonation of a Ronso. "Evan crush weak Ronso with big mouth." Evan says before his leg moves up and kicks Biran right in the stomach.

Biran slides on the floor for several feet before he stops and doubles over, holding his gut and looking at Evan with stunned eyes. Biran gets back to his feet and lets out a loud Ronso roar before getting into a charging stance. Evan flexes his arms while smirking and lets out a loud roar of his own, making the dust on the ring rise up in small clouds.

Marcus' eyes widen in comprehension. "Oh wow." He whispers to himself, getting an odd look from Tess, who was confused.

Biran was momentarily amazed at that display, but he growls. "Bulldoze!" He roars and slides over the floor right at Evan.

Evan smirks and spreads his feet apart. Evan lowers his hands holding them parallel to the floor then raises them over his head. The concrete in front of him rises as well, making a wall, which Biran slams into.

Biran rebounds off the wall and jumps up over it, going to pounce on Evan. Evan sees this and slams both of his fists into the wall. The top part of the wall breaks off and slams into Biran. Biran goes over Evan's head and hits the floor before jumping to his feet.

Evan faces Biran and stomps his foot on the ground. A chunk of concrete jumps up, which Evan punches forward and sends it flying towards Biran. Biran growls and holds his lands to the side. "Mighty Guard!"

A transparent shield appears around Biran. The rock smashes to pieces at it hits the shield, leaving Biran unharmed. "Biran has ultimate shield. Small man cannot touch Biran now. Small man will try and when he is worn out, Biran will triumph."

Evan looks at Biran analytically. "Unless I just wait until you can't hold that shield up. Unless I'm mistaken and you can move with that on."

Biran growls angrily at Evan. "Attack, little man!"

"Or we can stay at this stalemate until you decide to come out of your shield. But that seems pretty boring." Evan holds out his right arm. "Let's see which is better, you're ultimate shield, or my ultimate spear. White Lightning!"

Lightning sparks into existence right at the edge of his middle finger and wraps down around his hand, wrist, and arm. Sparking violently, the lightning spins around on his arm, like a drill. Suddenly the lightning doubles in strength before Evan rushes Biran. Evan shoots his arm forward and it slams right into Biran's shield, shaking the entire ring violently at the struggle between Biran's Mighty Guard and Evan's White Lightning.

The Mighty Guard begins to crack under Evan's assault, making Evan drive his arm harder into the shield. Then the Mighty Guard shatters from around Biran, and Evan's arm continues forward, about to impale Biran. At the last second, the lightning disappears and Evan's hand balls into a fist, driving into Biran's stomach. Biran, already stunned and shocked by the destruction of his shield, doubles over in pain from Evan's fist.

Biran takes several steps backwards, getting away from Evan, while holding his stomach. Biran glares at Evan, showing great loathing. "Little man will not beat Biran. Biran greatest warrior of Ronso."

Evan scoffs and rolls his eyes. "I've already got you beat. You just don't realize it yet." Evan says with a smirk. "Unless you're hiding a whole bunch of power you haven't shown yet."

Biran straightens up and starts shaking in his anger. His fur takes on a reddish tint and his eyes widen while his pupils constrict. "BIRAN BEAT YOU!" Biran shouts in berserk fury while charging at Evan.

Biran throws a full force punch, which Evan just steps to the side to avoid, before he brings that same arm to a halt, bends it at the elbow and tries driving it at Evan again. This time Evan brings up his arm and blocks it then is force to duck to avoid Biran's other arm. Biran and Evan face each other, with Biran throwing punches and kicks in a furious frenzy, getting more furious as Evan blocks or dodges each of Biran's attacks.

Evan dodges one last punch before he throws three quick and powerful punches to Biran's gut, stopping Biran while he was stunned by the pain. Evan then brings his right arm up and uppercuts Biran with enough force to launch him into the air. Evan grabs Biran's foot before he could go too far and starts spinning himself and Biran around. Evan and Biran's world becoming nothing but a blur before Evan lets go of Biran's foot, launching him over the ring, out of bounds, and right through the concrete wall.

Anaki holds his hand out to Evan. "Winner of match six, by ring out, Evan Umera!" Anaki announces, making the audience go wild. Evan raises his arms and laughs merrily before he walks to the back room, while the stage hands go and help Biran out of the wall.

The group was dead silent at the display. "Okay…when the hell could he do that?" Ezriel asks in bewilderment.

"That was completely different than holding a heavy sword. That was just…wow." Tidus says in amazement, unable to complete his thought.

Yuna was the first to come to her senses. "Maybe that's what he meant. That'd we'd think he was too weird to have around with that strength."

"That was nothing." Auron says knowingly. "He's going to show a lot more than that, if Marcus was right." That got the group intrigued.

Anaki steps into the ring and looks at his clipboard. "Would Cornelius Jun and Shin Junior please report to the stage?" Anaki asks and walks off the ring as Cornelius and Shin walk from the back.

Cornelius Jun is five-feet, five inches with a slim and frail build, short grey hair, and blue eyes, and is sixty-two years old. He wears flowing blue robes with a cape on his back. He also carries a staff with sigils engraved in its wood.

Shin Junior is a seven-foot, five inches with a muscular build. He wears a purple full-body dive suit, with a white cape and a gas mask on his face. Brown gloves and shoes cover his hands and feet.

"Wow, just look at the difference between these two, Jimma." Bobba says, lacking any information on the two.

"Now that's just wrong. I mean, come on, how is that old man supposed to face that giant?" Ezriel exclaims in disgust.

Auron turns his head slowly to stare harshly at Ezriel. "You have something against old people?"

Ezriel returns Auron's stare. "Only if they're out of their league. Since when are you touchy about your age?" Auron just stares at Ezriel for a moment before looking back to the ring.

The two enter the ring and face each other. "Let the seventh match begin!" Anaki calls out beginning the match.

Cornelius gets into a stance, his staff in both hands holding it towards Shin. "Begone! Permoveo Aer!" He shouts, the sigils on his staff glowing with light. Suddenly a huge gust of air whips through the arena with tornado force, all aimed at Shin.

Shin remains as he was, his cape billowing with the air. He scoffs and starts walking forward against the force of the wind. Cornelius gawks at this for a moment before putting more power into his magic, summoning up a much stronger gust of wind. This one momentarily stops Shin but then he continues towards Cornelius, seemingly unaffected.

As Shin reaches Cornelius he simply puts his hand on Cornelius' chest. Suddenly Cornelius flies backwards, rolling head over heels until he falls off the ring and out of bounds. Anaki points to Shin. "Winner of match seven, by ring out, Shin Junior!"

"Well, that was an interesting bit of magic." Yuna says appreciatively.

Auron was staring at Shin in interest. "Something about that Al Bhed is off."

Shin walks back towards the back room while Cornelius walks back holding his back and wincing with every step. Anaki gets onto the ring and reads off the last two names for the first round. "Would Yenke Ronso and Marcus Amari please report to the ring?" Anaki asks and gets off the stage as Yenke and Marcus come walking out of the back room.

"Yenke Ronso is another Ronso from Mt. Gagazet and one of its greatest heroes. Marcus Amari is practically famous all over Spira as one of High Summoner Braska's Guardians. He is also a world renowned blacksmith and the father of Tess Amari. Needless to say, this one is going to be interesting to watch!" Jimma announces over the loud speakers.

The group cheers loudly for Marcus as they enter the ring. Yenke and Marcus stand in the center of the ring and face each other. "Let the eighth match begin!" Anaki calls out beginning the match.

Yenke sneers at Marcus. "Yenke will make old man's defeat quick." Yenke says confidently.

Marcus just smirks smugly at Yenke. "Right. Let's see what you got." Marcus says just as confidently as Yenke.

Yenke rears his head back and lets out a loud roar, which stops suddenly and a look of pain settles in. Yenke looks down and sees Marcus right in front of him with his right fist in Yenke's stomach. "Keep the volume down, us old men don't like the loud noises." Marcus says then removes his fist and jumps back a few feet away from Yenke.

Yenke fell to his knees as Marcus removed his fist. Hardly able to breath, he just remains there, wheezing heavily. Marcus cups a hand behind his ear and leans towards Yenke. "You know, my hearing must be going. It sounded like you said you'd beat me quickly. Now all I'm hearing is your inability to breathe properly."

Yenke growls and stands up, glaring at Marcus. Marcus sighs and looks seriously at Yenke. "I'm too old for this crap." Marcus grumbles towards Yenke before he leaps at Yenke, brining his leg back and kicking at his head.

Yenke tries to bring his arm up to block, but was too slow. The kick lands on the side of Yenke's head, launching him from his feet. Yenke sprawls on the ground several feet away, completely dumbfounded. Marcus quickly rushes Yenke and kicks him in the side, sending him sliding on the floor, over the edge of the ring, and onto the grass. "I'm also too old to be fighting weaklings like you." Marcus grumbles to himself, rubbing the back of his neck.

Anaki points to Marcus. "Winner of match eight, by ring out, Marcus Amari!" Anaki calls out as Marcus helps Yenke to his feet.

Yuna was wide-eyed at the show of Marcus' strength. "Okay, Evan I can get, but Marcus as well?"

Auron chuckles a little. "I told you, it only gets better from here."

Together they go to the back as Anaki walks into the ring. "The first round has concluded. Now to start the quarter-final round, would Kurik Ronso and Savailo Dozu please report to the ring?" Anaki asks as Kurik and Savailo come walking out.

"Well Bobba, this is definitely going to be an interesting match-up. A rematch from last year's Grand Prix' final match." Jimma announces over the loud speakers.

"That's right, Jimma. I doubt any match today will compare to the fight we're about to witness." Bobba agrees excitedly.

Ezriel nudges Tidus with his elbow. "Get ready to see why this guy is the world champ." Ezriel says excitedly before returning his attention to the ring.

Kurik and Savailo enter the ring and face each other. "Let the ninth match begin!" Anaki calls out beginning the match.

"I was hoping to fight you in the finals. It's no fun defeating you so soon." Kurik says getting into a fighting stance.

Savailo scoffs and gets into a fighting stance as well. "Would be fun seeing you trying to beat me. I doubt that'll happen though."

Kurik growls in annoyance and charges at Savailo, bringing his left arm back and throws a punch that goes right through Savailo's after image. Kurik's eyes widen with surprise and worry.

Savailo, moving too fast for Kurik to follow, dodged out of the way of the punch by moving to his right. He quickly moves behind Kurik and brings his right leg up, kicking Kurik on his right side. Kurik grunts in discomfort but catches Savailo's leg as it landed. Kurik grabs it with both hands and starts spinning in a circle, bringing Savailo with him.

Kurik releases Savailo when everything was a blur to them, launching him across the ring. However, Savailo manages to control himself by flipping and landing on his feet, his back to Kurik. Savailo turns towards Kurik and immediately jumps to his left just as a green ball of energy hits the floor right where Savailo was a second ago.

Holding his throat, Kurik opens his mouth again and fires another ball of energy at Savailo. Savailo rolls forward to avoid it again, but another one was coming at him. Savailo, again showing his prowess in speed, dodges again, leaving another after image behind, and rushes away. As he stops, another ball of energy is shot at him from Kurik's mouth. Making a zigzag line towards Kurik, Savailo dodges energy blasts raining from Kurik's mouth.

Savailo goes to front flip over Kurik, but grabs hold of Kurik's vest. Savailo brings his legs down from over his head, bends them at the knees, and drives both of them into Kurik's stomach. Kurik readies a blast as the air is driven from him.

Savailo lets go of Kurik's vest and ducks down before jumping up and kicking Kurik right under the jaw. Just as the kick lands, Kurik fired the blast, but it didn't escape him this time, lighting his body with a green light.

When the light fades Kurik is standing where he was, looking charred and smoking rising from all over his body. His eyes look distant and stunned. Savailo gets to his feet and pokes Kurik's chest, making the mighty warrior fall backwards onto his back.

"One…two…three…four…five…six…seven…eight…nine…ten! " Anaki counts out then points to Savailo. "Winner of match nine, by knockout, Savailo Dozu!" Anaki calls out as Savailo helps Kurik up and to the back room.

"See what I mean, Newbie?" Ezriel says knowingly. Tidus nods, keeping silent, amazed at what he just saw.

Anaki gets into the ring and reads from his clipboard. "Would Noburo Daisuke and Tess Amari please enter the ring?" Anaki asks then gets out of the ring as Noburo and Tess walk out from the back.  
"Yeah! Get that guy Tess!" Tidus screams out with the crowd.

Ezriel looks down at the two then to Vaed. "How do you think she'll do?"

"Yesterday she was tired when she started fighting him. So Noburo could have taken her. Now that she's relatively fresh. I think she has a shot." Vaed says then frowns slightly. "Not much of one, but she has a chance."

Tidus glares over at Vaed. "She's going to win!"

Vaed smiles at Tidus then looks back down to Tess. "I hope you're right."

Noburo and Tess walk into the ring and face each other. "Let the tenth match begin!" Anaki calls out beginning the match.

Noburo's hands emit flames as he gets into a fighting stance. He brings his right fist back and throws a jet of flame at Tess.

Tess stands still until the flame was close then she side steps to the left, smirking confidently as she advances with each side step to avoid another jet of flame. "Water Fists!" She cries out after avoiding another jet of flame and, still from a distance, fires water balls into the oncoming jets of flame.

Jet of fire after jet of fire Noburo keeps sending at Tess, and with each one she moves closer and closer to him. Once she was only a couple of feet away, Noburo lets out a triumphant smirk. He shoots a stream of fire onto the ground and makes a flaming line between himself and Tess. He raises his hands, making the fire expand upwards, creating a wall of flame.

With a simple pushing motion, the wall of fire shoots towards Tess. Tess, eyes wide in panic, uses her arms to cover her head and closes her eyes. Intense heat washes over her, but she remained unharmed. She opens her eyes and looks in front of her, seeing a jagged raised section of concrete.

Noburo looks at the rock wall that protected Tess then looks to Evan. "Cheater!" He calls out, his accent making it obvious he doesn't speak the language normally.

Anaki immediately looks to the stage hands monitoring the other competitors and sees that no flag had been raised. "Judge, did anyone back there make that wall appear?"

The judge shakes his head, giving the thumbs up. Anaki turns back to Noburo. "I'm sorry, but the judge says no one did anything. This is your opponents doing. The match continues."

Marcus looks from Tess to Evan. "Tell me you didn't help her."

Evan shakes his head and smirks. "Looks like our little Tess is an Earth Bender."

"Earth Bender? So I'm guessing Noburo is a Fire Bender?" Marcus says watching the match with renewed interest.

Evan nods then looks to Rahab and Amar who were still being healed. "Rahab is an Air Bender. Amar is a Water Bender." Evan then looks back to Noburo. "But this guy is probably the best Fire Bender I've ever seen. I honestly don't know if Tess can win this one."

Tess was still staring in wonder at the rock wall that she created. "Well, I'll have to practice this more." Tess says before stepping out from behind the wall. "Alright." Tess says getting into a fighting stance. "Let's go! I've got something new I need to learn, and you're just going to be holding me back."

Noburo's eyes narrow at her and starts making circling gestures with the index and middle fingers on both of his hands. Lightning sparks into creation on the tips of his fingers and after a moment he points the fingers on his left hand towards Tess. Lightning shoots out of his fingers and heads right at Tess.

Tess quickly smacks her fists together, making them emit spark of electricity of their own. Tess brings up her left fist and catches the lighting into her fist. "Thundara Fists!" She screams in exertion and throws a punch, launching a ball of lightning the size of her head at Noburo.

The lightning ball catches Noburo by surprise, never having his own lightning redirected back at him before. It crashes into his chest and launches him from his feet. He flies through the air and lands on the grass outside of the ring, still sparking and convulsing from the electricity.

Anaki points to Tess. "Winner of match ten, by ring out, Tess Amari!" Anaki announces, getting applause from the audience.

Lulu smiles slightly at her little sister. "That was a risky move, but I'm glad it worked."

Ezriel was whistling in appreciation. "I didn't know she could do that."

Tidus was jumping up and down in excitement. "That's the way! Good job, Tess!" Tess walks back to the back room, followed by a team of stage helpers carrying a still convulsing Noburo on a stretcher.

Marcus was beaming in pride at her win. "You did well."

"A lot better than I thought you'd do." Evan admits with a sheepish smile.

Tess looked like she was going to yell at him, but stops and looks back to the ring at her wall before looking back to Evan. "You think you can teach me how to control that?"

Evan laughs and pats her shoulder. "After the tournament, I'll teach you. But for the remainder of the tournament, don't try Earth Bending. You might hurt yourself." Evan says before walking out and lowering the wall back into the ring. He checks his handiwork and walks back into the backroom.

Anaki gets into the ring and reads from his clipboard. "Would Kyri Toriyama and Evan Umera please enter the ring?" Anaki asks and gets out of the ring as Kyri and Evan walk out from the back.

Kyri and Evan enter the ring and face each other, Kyri glaring at Evan with great loathing. "Let the eleventh match begin!" Anaki calls out beginning the match.

Kyri quickly starts doing several hand gestures and takes a deep breath. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Kyri exclaims before blowing out her breath, along with several dozen small fire balls. They cover a wide area both horizontally and vertically, giving little room for maneuvering.

Evan's eyes widen and he gets a panicked expression. He starts tying to dodge the fireballs by side-stepping, rolling, jumping, and ducking them. Most of them, Evan was able to avoid, but he sees that some did manage to hit his coat, making small fires. Evan starts patting at the fire frantically, putting them out.

An orange glow makes Evan look towards Kyri, but he only sees a jet of flames heading his way. The flames close in quickly on the panicking Evan, which he brings his arms up to cover his head as the flames engulf him and the ring around him. Kyri smirks maliciously at Evan being burned alive.

"Yes!" She exclaims victoriously. "Now you'll burn forever for what you've done!" Kyri exclaims smugly at the fire. "I don't care if I'm disqualified, killing you was worth it!" As the flames disperse a dome of concrete is shown, covering where Evan was.

Eyes widened in shock, Kyri stares at the dome in disbelief. "No way! There was no time for a defensive action! I timed it perfectly!" Kyri shouts, anger mixing into her disbelief. "How'd he do that?

The top of the dome bursts outward as Evan jumps twenty feet into the air, holding his smoking backside. "My ass is on fire!" He cries out in a high pitched panicked tone. He lands on his feet and runs around in a circle patting at his backside.

Kyri looks on in shock. "He covered himself completely, only getting a little of my fire." Kyri scowls ferociously at Evan. "He's definitely stronger than last time."

Evan gets the fire out and sighs in relief before looking at Kyri in confusion. "Did I do something to you? 'Cause that attacked seemed more personal than for sport."

Kyri's eyes narrow at the question. "You don't remember me, do you?" Kyri asks in a dangerous tone.

Evan puts his fists on his hips and looks Kyri up and down. "I'm sorry, I don't." Evan says apologetically. "Can you give me a clue?"

Kyri growls in annoyance. "You really don't remember?" She shrieks at him, furious. "Three years ago, you broke into Bevelle's Palace and stole information! In the process you killed an entire squad! I was the only survivor!"

Evan's eyes widen in shock then narrow. "I didn't kill anyone! I only knocked everyone out! It was your crazy Captain that killed everyone!" Evan yells, the subject sore for him to talk about.

"Liar!" Kyri yells in furious anger and starts doing gestures again. "Blaze Style: Breath of the Dragon Jutsu!" She roars, throwing her arms up into the air, and throwing her head back, releasing jets of flame from his hands and her mouth into the air.

After another set of hand gestures, the fire begins to flow downward, dissipating before touching her, but the heat gets absorbed into her body. Slowly her body starts to glow like a red-hot poker. Once all the fire is gone she glares at Evan and charges, moving a lot faster than before.

Evan's eyes widen in shock, but he couldn't stand still as Kyri charged him, throwing an assault of punches. Evan had to keep moving, trying to keep his distance since the heat coming from her threatening to burn him. Evan manages to slip past Kyri and sprint away, getting some distance.

He turns to face her again, only to see a large ball of heated energy soar towards him. Evan does some hand gestures himself. "Diamond Style: Diamond Dome Jutsu!" Evan yells, and diamonds sprout up from all around him, making a dome to cover him. The ball of heat meets the wall, but starts cutting through it with its intense heat.

The ball of heat cuts all the way through, and hits Evan right in the chest making him scream in agony. Kyri smirks and fires everything she has right into the hole she made in a stream of heated energy. The red glow leaves her body and finally shoots into the dome, making Evan scream even louder. The dome starts to crack from all the pressure trapped inside and then explodes, sending shards of diamond everywhere. Kyri, uses the last of her energy to direct the shards away from her so she remained unharmed, though she was completely drained, having given everything into that attack.

When the dust settled, Evan was laying on his back, severely burned and barely alive. Evan lifts his head to look at Kyri, half his face was burned and scarred. "One…two…three…four…five…six…seven…eight…nine…" Before Anaki could count to ten, Evan disappears in a cloud of smoke.

Kyri's eyes widen in sudden fear and understanding. She looks around the ring, looking for where Evan could be. "Your anger has clouded your insight." Evan says, his voice coming from above.

Kyri looks up and sees Evan standing on a floating tile, looking down at her. "You've lost." Evan says as his tile starts descending to the ring. It settles in right where his shadow clone was, right where a tile was missing.

Kyri glares at Evan, hatred rising again. "I won't give up until you're dead." Kyri spits out acidly.

Evan walks forward until he was several feet from Kyri. "You're out of gas. I'm still ready and able to fight. Anything you do now will only serve to further humiliate yourself. Let your anger go and we can talk about what happened."

Kyri's hands ball into fists and she looks Evan right in the eyes. "I still have one trick left. Die." She says, her eyes glowing.

Suddenly, Evan wasn't standing in Luca anymore. He was tied to a wooden post in the middle of Besaid village, surrounded by angry villagers throwing rocks at him. All of them were shouting at him, calling him a monster.

Standing in front of Evan stood all his closest friends. Lulu steps forward her hand held out, palm up, with small ice spikes forming over her hand. "You're the monster! You're the one who killed all those villagers!"

"You killed our mother!" Tess says pointing her Sais at both her and someone beside Evan.

Evan looks to his left and sees Marcus tied up as well. "Why did you have to tell them? I told you this might happen. This is on your head." Marcus says miserably, looking utterly defeated.

Evan turns back to the others as Wakka steps up and spits right in Evan's face. "We were glad when you left. But then you came back and expected us to accept you. Look at all the pain you've brought. How could we ever accept you? Look at what you did to Yuna!"

Evan does, and Yuna wouldn't even look at him, tears were streaming from her eyes. "Yuna…I'm so sorry."

Wakka growls and punches Evan in the face, bursting Evan's lip. "You don't get to apologize! You could have stopped her from becoming a Summoner! You could have done the world a favor and killed yourself when you found out you were a monster! But no! You've cursed us just by being here!"

"But now, you will pay the price for your actions." Vaed says stepping up beside Wakka."You are a monster, in more than the traditional sense. You're actions have led to the deaths of many people. Today, you will repay them with your blood."

"But don't worry we'll make sure you suffer." Ezriel says from the other side of Wakka. "We won't stop until your cries of pain echo through the island."

The sun sinks below the horizon and Evan looks up to see the full moon. Evan looks at the others in horror. "Get away! The full moon is out!" He tries to tell them, but what came out was a pained snarl as his body starts to convulse.

Evan's mouth and nose starts to elongate, his teeth growing into razor sharp fangs. As his size begins to increase, the ropes holing him snap and his clothes start ripping and shredding apart, revealing a monkey-like physique. He roars in anger and pain as his eyes go completely white to completely red while his body grows to a fifty foot tall monster. His entire body is now completely covered in black fur, except for his face, hands, and feet.

Evan could comprehend what he was seeing, but had not control over his body's actions. "Run! Everybody run!" Evan tries to scream at the villagers and his friends, but what came out was a loud, bestial roar of rage.

He looked down and saw Marcus trying to get out of his bindings. Evan lifts his leg and crushes Marcus before he could do anything. "No! Marcus!" Evan screams out in pain and misery.

The great ape bends down and swats Lulu and Tess through several of the huts. "No! Stop this!" Evan screams out seeing the sight of his mangled sisters' bodies.

Now the great ape sees Wakka, Ezriel, and Vaed trying to lead some of the villagers from the village. The great ape jumps and crashes his entire body onto all of them, squashing them like a boot squashes an ant. "Damn it! Stop!" Evan cries out.

Then the great ape turns his attention to Yuna and Kimahri. The great ape gets up and snatches up Yuna, squeezing her tightly in his hand. Kimahri jumps up, trying to save her, but the great ape opens his mouth and fires out a blast of energy that completely wipes Kimahri from existence.

The great ape starts squeezing his hand tighter and tighter on Yuna. "NO!" Evan shrieks out in terror.

"Wake up, dumbass!" Ultima shouts out of nowhere. Suddenly Evan was standing in Ultima's chamber. The dragon had his head through the bars of the gate, glaring at Evan. "Are you stupid or something? You know what a Genjutsu is and you feel right into one." Ultima scolds harshly.

Evan was still trembling from what he saw. "That…was a Genjutsu?"

Ultima rolls his eyes at Evan. "Of course, you idiot! You're still in the ring at Luca!" Ultima yells impatiently, he voice knocking Evan from his feet.

Evan remains seated and thinks about everything he knows about Genjutsu. "How'd she do it though? She didn't make any hand signs."

Ultima brings his head to Evan's level. "Kyri is of an ancient clan. There are very few of them now, but they all have a special trait. Their purple eyes, it's through these eyes that they can send someone into their worst fears. They see into your heart and create an illusion based on the truth of what you fear. This girl is clearly more powerful than most, since Rahab is still caught in his own world. You are lucky I was here to help you realize what was going on."

Evan nods in understanding and gets to his feet. "Thanks, Ultima."

Ultima growls slightly and pulls his head back into his cage, laying his head down and closing his eyes again. "I only did so to help myself. You are my host. What happens to you will happen to me."

Evan waves his hand dismissively at Ultima. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." Then a thought struck Evan and he looks back to Ultima. "Do you think you can help me reverse this Genjutsu? I have an idea on how to win and prove myself to Kyri."

Ultima opens his eyes and looks at Evan. "You have my attention."

/

Back in the ring, Kyri continues to stare at Evan's eyes, locking him in the Genjutsu. But his eyes turn from normal to dragon-like before glowing white. Suddenly Kyri was standing in a hallway, glowing blue and transparent, like a ghost.

The hallway is littered with her unconscious squad. Evan stands at the end of the hallway, breathing heavily and looking exhausted. His partner remained a black figure that was indistinguishable. His partner looks at the unconscious men then to Evan. "We should kill them. We don't need them at our back as we're trying to escape."

Evan looks at his partner in disappointment. "Are you freaking kidding me? You can be sure they sent someone for back up. If they come back to a hallway filled with corpses, they'll never stop chasing us. At least now we have a chance of getting away. Besides you know I don't kill unless I have no choice."

"Whatever, it's your mission. Let's get out of here." His partner says, starting to walk away.

Then a bomb was tossed at them, but it exploded over the unconscious soldiers, taking the lives of the majority of the soldiers. "Well, looks like you tow just killed my squad. Now I'll make sure you rot in prison forever." A man in a captain's uniform and mask says a crazed smile on his face.

Evan was baffled by the captain's act. "Why the hell did you do that?" Evan exclaims in disgust.

"Under my watch, no one has ever broken into the Via Infinito and lived to tell about it. I plan to keep my streak going." The captain says then gestures to the corpses of his squad. "And I'm ensuring that you will rot for making it this far. Don't worry, these soldiers will be replaced as soon as I take you to the Maesters. I'll be rewarded and everyone will be happy…Except you two of course."

Evan takes off his pack and hands it to his partner. "Take these and get out of here. I'll hold him off and meet you at the rendezvous point."

His partner hesitates for a moment before taking the pack and running off. The captain reveals another bomb and throws it after Evan's partner. Evan jumps and kicks the bomb back at the captain, but it flew past his head and down a deserted hallway before detonating.

"That was a damned foolish thing to do. Now I'll have to kill you and go after him." The captain says, bringing out another bomb.

Before the captain could arm it, Evan rushes forward, grabbing the captain's hand with the bomb, making him drop it by breaking his wrist. "You killed your own men, just to get me in more trouble? You're not human, you're a monster." Evan says before smashing his fist into the captain's face.

The sound of approaching footsteps makes Evan look towards the incoming backup. "Damn, I'm too late." Evan scolds himself as Kyri and fifteen other guards heading their way.

During the distraction, and knowing Kyri was leading the backup, the captain pulls out a dagger from Evan's thigh case and stabs himself in the throat.

Evan looks down at the captain in horror as blood splashes onto Evan. The captain gives Evan a victorious smirk before breathing his last breath. Kyri, seeing the now dead captain, her dead squad-mates, and Evan covered in blood, shrieks. "Murderer! You're under arrest!"

"I believe that's enough." Ultima says, bringing the scene to an end and bringing Kyri to his chamber.

Kyri and Evan stand in the room's center, looking at one another. "What lies were those?" Kyri asks, confused by the scene.

"They were not lies." Ultima says, sticking his head out from his cage. "Your eyes make the truth of people's fears as your weapon. We are still in the power of your eyes, so what you saw was truth."

Kyri yelps and backs away from Evan and Ultima until her back was against the wall. "Y-You're the Ultima Weapon." Kyri says looking at Ultima. Then she looks to Evan. "That means you're its host."

Evan nods in confirmation. "Yeah, me and Ultima go back a long way."

Kyri then looks at the gate holing Ultima. "This seal is broken!" She exclaims in fear. "What happens if it gets out?"

Evan shrugs nonchalantly. "I can handle Ultima if he gets out. And he can come out as long as he cooperates with me."

"Like that will ever happen." Ultima says in disgust before looking back to Kyri. "But the important thing now is that you know the truth."

Kyri looks to the floor, processing what all she saw. "If what you say is really true, then you really didn't kill them." Kyri says sliding down the wall and sitting on her backside. "And you're a weapon host that can hold back his weapon." Kyri's head droops in defeat. "I give up."

"The winner of match eleven, by surrender, is Evan Umera!" Anaki announces, bringing Kyri to realize that she was standing in the ring.

Evan pats her shoulder then gestures for her to lead the way back to the back room. "Well, I wasn't expecting that." Wakka says, rubbing the back of his head in confusion. "Kyri did that stare thing with Rahab and made him lose. She does it to Evan, and she gives up. I don't get it."

"You'll have to ask Evan when we see him again." Ezriel says shrugging indifferently since he didn't have a clue on what happened either.

Vaed looks to Yuna, observing her and Lulu. "You two okay?"

Yuna nods, though her eyes were wide in disbelief. "I had no idea Evan could do any of that. It's just a lot to take in."

Lulu nods in agreement before looking to the others. "I found out something about Evan last night as well. I'm still trying to process it."

Yuna looks to Lulu in curiosity. "What?"

Lulu is silent for a few moments before she sighs heavily. "It's not my place to say. I'll let him tell you."

Kyri and Evan walks from the ring to the back, after Evan returned the ring to normal. "I'm sorry for being so angry with you, my anger was misplaced."

Evan shrugs and puts his hands in his coat pockets. "You were emotional about it, and you didn't know the truth. I can understand. What's important is that you know the truth."

As they enter the back room, Anaki walks into the ring. "Would Shin Junior and Marcus Amari please report to the ring?" Anaki asks before exiting the ring as Shin and Marcus walk out from the back.

Auron leans forward to get a better look at the two. "This…is going to be intense."

Shin and Marcus walk into the ring and face each other. "Let the twelfth match begin!" Anaki calls out beginning the match.

Shin charges forward and throws a punch at Marcus. Marcus moves his head to the side and jumps back at Shin follows up with a kick. Shin, showing great speed, goes in for a barrage of punches. Marcus, also showing great speed, dodges and blocks all the punches.

Shin jumps backwards and holds out his hand towards Marcus. A ball of orange energy forms there and fires at Marcus. Marcus brings his arm back and deflects the blast, making it hit the concrete wall.

Marcus stands straight, rubbing where he deflected the blast with his arm. "That was impressive. But you just gave yourself way 'Shin'. Show yourself and tell us who you really are, son of King Piccolo!"

Shin just stares at Marcus for a moment before he starts laughing with a deep voice. "I have to hand it to you, old man. You aren't just talk like my father thought you were." Shin takes off his gas mask and pulls back the hood of his diving suit.

He has green skin, a pointed nose and large pointed ears with two antennas coming out of his forehead. "Call me Piccolo Jr. I am the reincarnation of my father."

* * *

Author's Note:

Sorry for the late release, but I've been having major writers block for the last few days on a certain fight. And, no it isn't one of the shorter ones. I'll have the next chapter up within a few days.

If you haven't already guessed by now, this isn't just an alternate universe of Final Fantasy X, its also an alternate universe of Dragon Ball Z.

Thank you for reading so far. And please review and tell me how I did.

Next Chapter: The World's Strongest Fighters.


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